Nearly seven months into the war, less than half the 250 or more hostages taken on October 7 have been released. Many are believed to have already died in captivity.
Hamas’s political head, Ismail Haniyeh, said the terror group would only do a deal that would secure Israel’s full withdrawal from Gaza, in addition to the hostages being exchanged for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. Mr Haniyeh blamed Mr Netanyahu for “the continuation of the aggression and the expansion of the circle of conflict, and sabotaging the efforts made through the mediators and various parties.”
The war was sparked on October 7 when thousands of Hamas militia invaded Israel by land, air and sea, killing 1,200 mostly civilians and taking at least 250 hostages in the deadliest single day for Jews since the Holocaust. Since then, Israel’s retaliatory bombardment has killed over 34,000 according to Hamas.
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