The terrorist group Hamas threatened that none of the current hostages they held would survive unless their demands were met. The news comes amid other reports that hundreds of Hamas fighters have surrendered to Israeli families and less than two weeks after dozens of hostages were released during a brief ceasefire.
Hamas said that “the fascist enemy and its arrogant leadership,” referring to Israel, “nor its supporters” could take the hostages alive except through “an exchange and negotiation and meeting the demands of the resistance.”
A Hamas spokesperson made the announcement as the terrorist organization still holds more than 100 hostages. During a ceasefire late last month, 110 hostages were released in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners.
A significant number of Hamas fighters have reportedly surrendered to Israeli forces in the last week. Several photos and videos appear to show at least two major waves of surrender. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that “dozens of Hamas terrorists have been surrendering to our forces.”
The news also comes as Hezbollah launched several rockets at northern Israel this weekend. According to Israeli officials, one of the rockets was fired from near a facility used by United Nations peacekeepers.
Initial Reports that Israel has given the Lebanese Government and Military a “48-Hour Ultimatum” to begin Negotiations on an Agreement to return Hezbollah to their Positions which were agreed upon by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, or else the IDF will launch a… pic.twitter.com/ApwtjKFxCS
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) December 10, 2023
The Israeli government demanded that Lebanon remove Hezbollah fighters from near the country’s southern border. Israel reportedly gave Lebanon 48 hours for the action to take place.
The demand correlates with a U.N. resolution after the end of the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah.
Hezbollah is also backed by Iran, similar to Hamas. The group is considered a terrorist organization by Washington and was responsible for the 1983 bombing of the U.S. Marine Corps barracks in 1983, which killed 241 Americans.
Since the start of the conflict between Hamas and Israel began on Oct. 7, Hezbollah has launched a handful of missiles at Israel, claiming to destroy an Israeli tank. Israel has launched a series of attacks on Hezbollah positions in Lebanon, killing a number of the group’s fighters.
Israel also apologized for accidentally striking a Lebanese military post last week.
