Hamas has issued what it calls a “warning” that the lives of two captives held in Gaza City are in danger as Israeli tanks push deeper inside several neighbourhoods of the besieged urban centre, where tens of thousands of Palestinians are trapped by Israel’s ground invasion and bombardment.
The Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Palestinian group, said on Sunday that contact has been lost with fighters holding Omri Miran and Matan Angrest after “brutal military operations and violent targeting in the Sabra and Tal al-Hawa neighbourhoods during the last 48 hours”.
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“The lives of the two captives are in real danger, and the occupation forces must immediately withdraw to the south of Road 8 and halt aerial sorties for 24 hours starting from 18:00 this evening (15:00 GMT), until an attempt is made to extract the two prisoners,” it said.
Hamas released a “farewell picture” of captives in Gaza this month in another attempt to stop the Israeli army as it systematically destroys Gaza City and displaces hundreds of thousands of starving Palestinians once again.
Israel said 48 captives remain in Gaza, 20 of whom are alive. But the country has refused to stop the war despite being increasingly accused of committing genocide and as Israeli families call and protest for a comprehensive deal to end the war and bring back all captives.
Their pleas have not been heeded by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government, and relatives and supporters are blaming the government for their prolonged captivity.
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The political wing of Hamas said in a statement earlier on Sunday that the group has not received any new ceasefire or peace proposals from mediators Qatar and Egypt, even as United States President Donald Trump continues to predict an imminent ceasefire, which he has done several times in recent weeks.
The group confirmed that negotiations remain halted after Israel tried to assassinate top Hamas leaders in Doha on September 9 as they gathered to review a new ceasefire proposal presented by Trump.
But Hamas said it is “ready to study any proposal from the brother mediators with positivity and responsibility, in a manner that preserves the national rights of our people”.
Far-right Israeli ministers said on Sunday that they oppose a 21-point plan presented by Trump and any other deal that would put an end to the war before eliminating Hamas.
In a post on X, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said: “Mr. Prime Minister, you have no mandate to end the war without a decisive defeat of Hamas.”
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said he would “never agree to a Palestinian state – even if it is difficult, even if it has a price, and even if it takes time”.
More than 66,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip since the start of the war in October 2023, according to the enclave’s Ministry of Health.
Dozens more Palestinians were killed in air strikes and shelling or while seeking aid on Sunday, including a child in a bombardment of the Sabra neighbourhood. Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis city reported an infant died due to malnutrition and inadequate medical treatment.
Israeli tanks are also inching closer towards the al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, which used to be the largest medical complex in Gaza but now lies mostly in ruins after several previous Israeli sieges.
Muhammad Abu Salmiya, director of the hospital, said on Sunday that his team is committed to keeping the facility running as long as possible as patients and displaced people are sheltering there.
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