Forget them now! Hamas releases photo of 47 Israeli hostages in 'Farewell'

As the Israel-Hamas war continues to rage, Hamas published ‘farewell’ photos of the 47 remaining Israeli hostages in Gaza on Saturday. “This is a farewell photo at the beginning of this military operation in Gaza, due to the stubbornness of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the subservience of [Chief of General Staff Eyal] Samir,” the Hamas armed wing, Ezzedine al-Qassam, released the photos of the hostages on its Telegram channel with the caption.

The hostages are all named after Ron Arad, an Israeli air force member who was captured in 1986. They have been held by Hamas for almost two years. They were held after Hamas launched an attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. The 48 people, including women and men, were taken hostage. Reports indicate that two of them are American citizens.

Hamas also said on its official website that the fate of the hostages would depend on the political decisions of the Israeli leadership and Prime Minister Netanyahu, TRT World reported. Although Hamas has expressed its willingness to reach a comprehensive peace agreement to end the nearly three-year-old war, Netanyahu has repeatedly rejected ceasefire proposals. Hamas released the image amid accusations in Israel and other countries that Netanyahu is prolonging the war for his own political survival, ignoring the survival of the hostages.

As the war continues, Israel has also been carrying out airstrikes in other countries in the Middle East. Most recently, on September 9, an Israeli airstrike on a residential compound in Doha, Qatar, killed five Hamas leaders.

According to the Gaza Health Ministry, Israel has killed more than 65,000 Palestinians since the Hamas offensive on October 7. Many human rights groups have accused Israel of "genocide." Last November, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza