Militant group Hamas’ armed wing, which launched an attack on Israel on Saturday and abducted many people from the country, has threatened that it will begin executing an Israeli civilian and broadcast their execution in its hold if Israel bombs civilian houses without warning.
The wing’s spokesperson said that so far they have acted in accordance with Islamic instructions and have kept the captives safe and sound. It blamed their intentive move of killing the captives on Israel’s stepped-up bombing and killing of Palestinian civilians inside their homes in air strikes without warning them.
Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said over 100 people had been taken captive by Hamas during the cross-border incursion over the weekend.
Earlier, Israel called up an unprecedented 300,000 reservists and imposed a blockade on the Gaza Strip which led to a fear that it planned a ground assault.
The violence in the region has killed over 1,500 people. As per reports, the death toll from the Hamas attack had claimed 900 Israelis, with at least 2,600 injured, and dozens taken captive. On the other hand, Gaza’s Health Ministry said at least 687 Palestinians had been killed and 3,726 wounded in Israeli air strikes on the blockaded enclave so far.
In its retaliatory move, Israel also bombed the headquarters of the private Palestinian Telecommunication Co., which could affect landline telephone, internet and mobile phone services. Israel’s strikes in the Gaza Strip continued into the night on Monday. It has hit targets there from sea and air. It also hit a weapons depot that belonged to Islamic Jihad and Hamas targets along Gaza’s coastline.
Palestinians have reported getting calls and audio messages from Israeli security officers asking them to leave areas mainly in the northern and eastern territories of Gaza, warning them that the army would operate there. Dozens of people in Gaza City’s Remal neighbourhood fled their homes.
Hamas open to discussions
Senior Hamas official Moussa Abu Marzouk told Al Jazeera that the group is open to discussions over a possible truce with Israel, having “achieved its targets”.
Moussa Abu Marzouk said that the Hamas was open to “something of that sort” and “all political dialogues” when asked whether the Islamist group is willing to discuss a possible ceasefire.
9With Reuters inputs)