No fewer than 13 hostages captured by Hamas were killed in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza, the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, disclosed on Friday.
In a statement, it said, “Foreigners and Israelis were killed during the intense Israeli attacks in northern Gaza and inside Gaza City during the past 24 hours.’’
According to the statement, six people were murdered in the northern Gaza Strip, while seven were slain in different locations in Gaza City.
The Israeli army announced Thursday night that it had hit around 750 targets in Gaza, including underground tunnels, military buildings, and sites.
It went on to say that the attack had also targeted officials’ houses, weapons stockpiles, and communication rooms in an attempt to destroy activists.
The Palestinian militant group on Friday rejected an Israeli order for 1.1 million residents to evacuate northern Gaza ahead of an expected ground incursion into the overcrowded Palestinian territory.
The Israeli administration, on the other hand, announced that there will be no humanitarian respite in the siege of Gaza until all hostages are released.
Israel announced this amid mounting anxiety about decreasing water, food, and fuel supplies following a sixth night of bombardment in response to Hamas‘ fatal strike over the weekend.
Israel’s energy minister, Israel Katz, stated on social media that no “electrical switch will be turned on, no water hydrant will be opened, and no fuel truck will enter” until the “abductees” are free.
Israel is prepared to launch a land assault in reaction to Hamas’s brutal atrocities in 20 Israeli communities last weekend, which included the kidnapping of scores of hostages.