A large number of Israeli civilians and soldiers have been held hostage by Palestinian Islamic fundamentalist militant movement Hamas amid their unprecedented conflict with Tel Aviv. An Israeli military spokesperson said children, women, the elderly and the disabled were among those taken by the militants. Some are alive and some are presumed dead, military spokesman Lt Col Jonathan Conricus said, quoted by BBC.

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An X (previously Twitter) account, Israel War Room, laid out a post claiming that the militant movement was targeting mostly women as Hamas fighters were ‘using rape as a weapon of war’. The pictures of the abductees were also shared in the post. “Hamas seems to have kidnapped mostly women. It has already been confirmed that Hamas fighters are using rape as a weapon of war. There must be no mercy for these barbarians,” the post reads.  

Tel Aviv declared a “state of war” on Saturday after Hamas launched a surprise military operation against it. Hamas launched as many as 5,000 rockets, declaring the operation as ‘the greatest battle to end the last occupation on earth’. In a broadcast on Hamas media, senior military commander Mohammad Deif announced the start of the operation, urging Palestinians worldwide to join the fight.

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Responding to the aggression, the Israeli military launched 'Operation Iron Swords’ with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu committing to reduce the group's Gaza hideouts to "rubble". Israel on Sunday claimed it has killed more than 400 militants in retaliatory airstrikes in Gaza. They said the future of the war will be shaped by the number of civilian and military personnel taken hostage by Hamas. 


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