Ahmed Kamel – Egypt Daily News
As Israel prepares for a major military offensive to seize control of Gaza City, described as Hamas’s last stronghold, the Palestinian group has issued a stark warning: Israeli hostages still held in the Strip will be kept in combat zones and subjected to the same risks as Hamas fighters.
In a statement released Friday, Abu Ubaida, spokesperson for the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, announced that the hostages “will be with our fighters in the areas of combat and confrontation, under the same conditions of risk and living.” The statement, issued via Telegram, added: “We will do our best to safeguard them, but we will also publish the name, image, and proof of death of any captive killed by the aggression.”
The warning comes amid growing speculation that Israel is on the verge of launching a full-scale assault on Gaza City, which the Israeli military has declared a “dangerous combat zone”, though it has not yet called for a mass evacuation. The planned offensive is expected to be among the most intense phases of the nearly year-long conflict.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) believe that of the 251 individuals taken hostage during Hamas’s unprecedented cross-border attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, 47 remain in Gaza, with around 20 thought to be still alive. Many of the hostages are believed to be held in the complex tunnel networks beneath Gaza City, which Israel views as a central hub of Hamas’s military operations.
Abu Ubaida’s message appears to be both a psychological tactic and a strategic threat, meant to deter Israel from pressing forward with its urban assault by raising the potential cost in terms of hostage lives. The spokesperson also warned that an Israeli ground campaign could result in more captives. “The enemy’s criminal plans to occupy Gaza will be a catastrophe for its political and military leadership. It will cost its army blood, and increase the chances of capturing more soldiers,” he stated.
The United Nations estimates that approximately one million people currently reside in Gaza City and its surrounding governorate, making any military incursion into the densely populated urban area fraught with humanitarian risks.
Despite repeated calls from international mediators and humanitarian organizations for a negotiated resolution to the hostage crisis, efforts have so far failed to produce a comprehensive agreement. Israel maintains that military pressure remains its most viable strategy for dismantling Hamas’s capabilities, while Hamas continues to use the hostages as leverage in both battlefield and diplomatic terms.
As the specter of a large-scale assault on Gaza City looms, the fate of the remaining Israeli hostages hangs in the balance, caught between Hamas’s hardened stance and Israel’s determination to eliminate what it sees as the group’s final foothold.
The coming days may prove decisive not only for the military trajectory of the conflict, but also for the lives of civilians and captives alike, as both sides brace for what could be one of the most consequential confrontations since the war began.
