Hamas kills Israeli hostage, wounds two others in

Hamas kills Israeli hostage, wounds two others in | Daily Tribune

PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES (AFP) — The armed wing of Palestinian group Hamas said Monday its militants had shot and killed an Israeli hostage and wounded two others, both women, “in two separate incidents” in Gaza.

Abu Obeida, spokesperson for the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, said in a statement: “In two separate incidents, two recruits assigned to guard enemy prisoners fired at a Zionist prisoner, killing him immediately, and also injured two female prisoners critically.”

The statement, posted on Telegram, did not identify the hostages or say when or where the incidents occurred, but noted “attempts are being made to save the lives” of the two women.

Abu Obeida said Hamas had formed a committee to investigate the shootings.

The Israeli military said in a statement that it does “not have any intelligence information that allows us to refute or confirm Hamas’ claims.”

“We will continue to examine and verify the credibility of the message,” the statement added.

Israeli military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, in a televised briefing earlier on Monday, said: “We do not forget for a moment the hostages being cruelly held by Hamas in Gaza.”

“We are deeply concerned about their physical and mental condition, given the prolonged time that has passed and the harsh conditions of their captivity.”

Palestinian militants seized 251 hostages during their 7 October attack on Israel that triggered the ongoing war, with 111 of them still held in Gaza including 39 the Israeli military says are dead.

The 7 October attack resulted in the deaths of 1,198 people, mostly civilians, according to an Agence France-Presse tally based on official Israeli figures.

Israel’s retaliatory military offensive in the Gaza Strip since then has killed at least 39,897 people, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry, which does not provide details on civilian and militant deaths.

Shot Palestinian a freed prisoner

Meanwhile, a Palestinian prisoners watchdog said Tuesday that a man shot dead by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank the previous day had been freed during the November truce in the Gaza war.

The Palestinian Prisoners’ Club said the 18-year-old had been released on 25 November during the one-week truce that saw scores of Palestinian prisoners exchanged for dozens of Israeli hostages held in Gaza since 7 October.

The Palestinian health ministry in Ramallah said Tariq Ziad Abdul Rahim Daoud was killed “by the occupation forces’ bullets near the town of Azzun, east of Qalqilya,” in the northern West Bank, on Monday.