Netanyahu says there are 33 children among Hamas hostages in Gaza

At least 33 children were taken hostage by militants of the Palestinian Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.

“Hamas is holding more than 200 Israeli hostages, including 33 children.”he noted during the press conference.

According to Netanyahu, militants are terrorizing captive citizens.

Earlier, Hamas published a video in which captive Israeli citizens accuse Netanyahu of not wanting to return them home, disrupting the transfer of hostages and failing to protect his citizens. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the recording was “harsh psychological propaganda.”

On October 7, a massive missile strike was launched against Israel. The Islamist movement Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, claimed responsibility for the attack. Hamas announced its Operation Al-Aqsa Flood. In response, Israel launched the counter-terrorism Operation Iron Swords.

On October 17, it became known about an attack on a hospital in Gaza. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas declared three days of mourning. The strike killed more than 470 people, according to Palestinian authorities. The culprit of the shelling has not been identified; the parties to the conflict are shifting responsibility onto each other.

On October 18, US President Joe Biden arrived in Israel. However, instead of trying to end the conflict, he unconditionally supported the actions of the Netanyahu government and the IDF. Palestinian Legislative Council member Mustafa Barghouti called Biden’s visit to Tel Aviv a disastrous mistake, pushing the IDF toward a ground invasion.

On October 23, Hamas released two elderly hostages – Israelis Nurit Yitzhak-Cooper and Yocheved Lifshitz. Previously, the organization released several US citizens. At the same time, employees of the International Committee of the Red Cross announced that they had agreed to the release of about 50 hostages with dual citizenship.

On October 26, it became known that representatives of the Palestinian Hamas movement and Russian diplomats discussed the evacuation of Russian citizens from the Gaza Strip and the release of hostages. As a result of the negotiations, Russian Foreign Ministry officials handed over a list of eight Russians in captivity, and the Palestinians promised to release them. Also during the Hamas delegation’s visit to Moscow, its members met with Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani.

Towards the end of the third week of the escalating conflict, the IDF announced an “expansion” of maneuvers in the Gaza Strip, clarifying that this was not yet the beginning of a ground operation in the enclave. In turn, Hamas claims that the movement managed to disrupt the Israeli ground operation. According to SANA, the Palestinian resistance ambushed and knocked out several Israeli armored vehicles.

On October 27, the UN General Assembly adopted a draft resolution developed by Jordan on the escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The document calls on the parties for an immediate humanitarian truce, the release of hostages and a cessation of hostilities, and also condemns violence against civilians in Palestine and Israel. In response, Israel accused the UN of “losing its legitimacy.” Russia’s Permanent Representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzya noted that the adoption of the Middle East resolution is a manifestation of common sense.

On the night of October 28, Israel subjected the Gaza Strip to its heaviest shelling in three weeks. The missiles were fired at more than 150 targets. Before this, the IDF said that the underground Hamas base was located under Gaza’s largest hospital. According to Al Jazeera TV channel, the strikes were carried out near two hospitals.

On the night of October 29, Israel announced the start of a full-scale ground operation in the Gaza Strip. After this, according to the correspondent “Izvestia”, direct clashes between the IDF and Hamas took place in the enclave. At the same time, Israeli troops shelled the territory of Syria and Lebanon. In addition, the bombing of the Gaza Strip intensified. Iran accused Israel of crossing red lines. The UN Security Council has scheduled a meeting in connection with the Israeli ground operation for October 30.

On October 29, the IDF said that the number of hostages had increased to 239. On the night of October 30, the Israel Defense Forces attacked military infrastructure in Syria in response to shelling. Israel later reported that in just a few days the military had hit more than 600 Hamas targets.