Hamas official reiterates no hostage release until Gaza war ends

하마스 “이스라엘 침략 멈추기 전 인질 협상 없어” Hamas says there will be no release of hostages unless Israel ends its armed conflict. The comment comes as the Palestinian militant group released a video showing three elderly Israeli hostages. Lee Seung-jae has the latest. Hamas official Osama Hamdan on Monday, reaffirmed the militant group’s stance that any negotiations on a hostage release were off the table until Israel stops its war against Gaza. Speaking at a press conference in Beirut, Hamdan said Hamas is open to initiatives from Qatar and Egypt about a hostage exchange that would stop the armed conflict in Gaza. The comments came as the militant group on Monday, released a minute-long video showing three elderly Israeli hostages pleading for their immediate release. The three hostages aged 79, 80 and 84 were taken to Gaza on October 7th. In the video, one of the captives said he along with other elderly hostages have chronic illness and that their conditions were harsh. International condemnation of Israeli airstrikes is growing, as recent attacks at a hospital in Gaza killed a 13-year-old girl, while an airstrike at a UN-run school also killed five others. As the funerals for three Israeli’s “mistakenly“ shot and killed by Israeli soldiers last Friday were held, Israelis also protested against its government calling for a ceasefire for the release of hostages. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is maintaining his hardline stance, saying the military will continue to fight until Hamas is eliminated and all hostages are released. Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said he held talks with Israeli officials to get a clearer assessment on their military operations. Speaking at a joint news conference on Monday with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Austin said that the two defense chiefs discussed pathways “toward a future for Gaza after Hamas.“ Gallant on the other hand said,.. while “there is no clock“ on the phases of the war, the next step would be to have refugees who fled from Gaza to be able to return home. However, he stressed that at the current stage, refugees from northern Gaza would be the first to return home. Lee Seung-jae, Arirang News. #Israel #hostage_release #Hamas #Gaza #Palestinian_militant #Middle_East #Israel_Defense_Forces #하마스 #이스라엘 #인질협상 #Arirang_News #아리랑뉴스 📣 Facebook : 📣 Twitter : 📣 Homepage : 2023-12-19, 09:00 (KST)