Hamas released video of an Israeli hostage in Gaza. “My name is Mia, I am twenty-one years old, I come from Shoham,” says the hostage, “I am in Gaza at the moment. I returned from a party in Sderot early Saturday morning. I was seriously injured on my hand. They took me to Gaza and here to the hospital. They took care of me, they gave me medicine. All I ask is that you take me home to my family as soon as possible. To my parents, “My brothers. Please let me out of here as quickly as possible,” is Mia’s request.
“It is impossible to know whether the hostages are still alive”
“I don’t know” whether the 199 hostages in the hands of Hamas in Gaza are still alive, Basem Naim, head of the political and international relations department of the movement that governs the Gaza Strip, told Sky News, claiming they were acting care about news. Due to the heavy bombing the Enclave is under, it is currently not possible to verify this. “We have communicated to all mediators that we are ready to release all civilian hostages as soon as the aggression against our people ends,” he stressed.
The militant wing of the radical Hamas movement will “release foreign hostages captured in southern Israel if circumstances permit,” Abu Ubaida, a representative of the Izz ed-Din al-Qassam group, later told Al Jazeera.
Hamas’ conditions for the release of the hostages
Hamas would be willing to release the hostages if Israel stopped the raids in the Gaza Strip, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani stressed yesterday. Hamas officials “have stated that they are ready to take the necessary measures to free citizens and civilians detained by resistance groups, but their point is that such measures require preparations that are impossible given the daily bombardment of the Gaza Strip,” said the spokesman. The Islamist organization has not commented publicly on the issue.
“We heard that they have no problem continuing to resist,” said Kanaani, referring to Hamas. “They said that the resistance had the military capacity to continue resisting on the ground for a long time.”
Hamas Shura chief killed
Meanwhile, Israel Defense Forces and the Shin Bet said in a joint statement that Asma al-Mazini, head of Hamas’ Shura Council, was killed in operations in Gaza. According to Israeli security forces, al-Mazini was the “minister” in charge of Hamas prisoners in Israeli prisons and directed terrorist attacks against Israel. Al-Mazini was responsible for negotiating the exchange of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.
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