Gaza— The Hamas resistance movement on Saturday released a compilation image of the remaining 47 Israeli hostages held in Gaza, describing it as a “farewell” picture. Each hostage in the photo was labelled as “Ron Arad,” the Israeli Air Force navigator captured in 1986, along with an assigned number, reported the Palestinian Chronicle.
The accompanying message directly blamed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for rejecting a ceasefire-hostage exchange and criticised IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir for launching the Gaza invasion despite reported objections.
The text read: “Because of Netanyahu’s refusal, and Zamir’s capitulation, a parting image as the military operation in Gaza City begins.”
According to Israeli media reports, only 20 of the 47 hostages are believed to be alive, with two in critical condition and the rest declared dead.
In a statement, Hamas’ military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, declared: “Your prisoners are within the neighborhoods of Gaza City, and we will not be concerned for their lives as long as Netanyahu has decided to kill them. The commencement of this criminal operation means you will not receive any prisoner, neither alive nor dead. Their fate will be the same as Ron Arad.”
During the January–March 2024 ceasefire, the Hamas resistance movement had already released 30 hostages, including 20 Israeli civilians, five soldiers, and five Thai nationals, as well as the bodies of eight killed captives. In May, they freed an American-Israeli hostage as a gesture to the United States. In return, Israel was forced to release 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.
