Israel has threatened Hamas with heavy strikes if it refuses to release hostages
Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz said that the Palestinian radical movement Hamas will receive heavy blows if it does not release the held hostages. The Times of Israel reported on January 1.
"If Hamas does not soon allow the release of Israeli hostages from Gaza <...> and continues to shell Israeli communities, it will receive blows with a force unseen in Gaza for a long time," the newspaper quoted Katz as saying.
The head of the Israeli Defense Ministry promised that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) "will continue to fight" until the hostages are returned and Hamas is eliminated.
The day before, on December 31, the IDF eliminated a Hamas field commander in a humanitarian zone in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis with an airstrike. The eliminated Abd al-Hadi Sabah was one of the high-ranking radicals who led an attack by armed militants on Kibbutz Nir Oz near the Gaza border on October 7, 2023.
The Israel Defense Forces on October 17 claimed to have eliminated Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in the southern Gaza Strip. For his part, Katz issued a statement that the killing of the movement's head creates an opportunity for the immediate release of hostages and could lead to a new reality in Gaza.
Later, the deputy head of the movement's politburo, Khalil al-Haya, confirmed Sinwar's death. He emphasized that the leader's martyrdom will only increase Hamas' strength.
The escalation in the Middle East began on October 7, when Hamas subjected Israeli territory to a massive rocket attack from the Gaza Strip, as well as invaded border areas in the south of the country and took hostages. On the same day, the Israeli side began retaliatory strikes.
The Palestinians are trying to ensure that future borders between the two countries follow the lines that existed before the 1967 Six-Day War, with possible land swaps.
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