- By Vivek Raj
- Thu, 12 Oct 2023 12:09 PM (IST)
- Source:IANS
A senior Hamas official has said that it's too early to consider exchanging Israeli hostages, who were captured following the group's recent attack on Israel on October 7. In an interview with CNN from Doha, Izzat Al-Risheq highlighted, "We will only discuss this issue when the Israeli aggression against our people ends."
Hamas founding member Al-Risheq firmly denied any external assistance from Iran or Hezbollah in Lebanon during their large-scale operation against Israel, stating, "I say it very clearly that this operation was a 100 per cent Hamas operation without any help from any regional party."
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On Monday, Israel's UN ambassador revealed that up to 150 people, including senior army officers, were being held hostage by Hamas in Gaza. The same day, Hamas' armed wing Al-Qassam Brigades spokesperson, Abu Obaida, warned of executing civilian hostages if Israel targeted Gaza residents without prior warning.
Speaking to CNN, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus explained that authorities believe the hostages are hidden underground. He said, “Reason dictates that they are underground. Reason also dictates that Hamas, since they planned to launch this attack and they planned to take these people hostage, reason dictates that they planned in advance locations to hide these hostages and keep them safe from Israeli intelligence, and efforts to get them out.”
Conricus acknowledged the complexity of the hostage situation, describing it as "extremely sensitive and complex." He stated that while Israel has dealt with hostage situations before, this one is unparalleled in scope, scale, and complexity.
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Regarding a potential Israeli ground invasion, Conricus said, "It is clear and understandable that what needs to be done is that all of Hamas' military capabilities need to be taken off the map. How that will happen, by what means, and what tactics, that is a few days in the future, maybe more than that.
