Hamas blames Israel's 'massacres' after guards kill Israeli captive and wound two
The spokesperson for Hamas's armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, announced on Monday that one Israeli male captive was killed by his guard and two female captives were seriously wounded in separate incidents in Gaza.
Abu Obaida, the official spokesman for the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, said that a committee has been formed to investigate the incidents and the details of the probe will be announced later. He added that efforts are underway to save the lives of the two women.
"The enemy government [Israel] bears full responsibility for these massacres and the resulting reactions that affect the lives of Zionist prisoners," he said in a statement posted on Telegram.
The statement provided no further details, leaving the condition of the female captives unclear.
This marks the first time that the Qassam Brigades have publicly acknowledged that one of their guards killed an Israeli captive. They have previously reported the deaths of several captives, blaming the fatalities on Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip.
New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch
Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters
An Israeli army spokesperson responded to the news, saying: "There is no intelligence document to confirm or refute Hamas' allegations."
"We continue to investigate the credibility of the statement and will provide information where we have it," Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee wrote on X.
The killing of the captive followed an Israeli air strike on a school housing displaced Palestinians, which killed at least 100 people. The strike occurred in Gaza City on Saturday while the Palestinians were performing dawn prayers.
A Palestinian Civil Defence worker told MEE that "most of those killed were children and elderly people", with the victims reduced to shreds and burned body parts due to the intensity of the air strike.
Israel claimed the prayer hall housed a "military facility" and that 31 of those killed were "terrorists". However, a preliminary investigation by Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor found several inaccuracies in the list of names provided by the military as "terrorists" killed.
At least three of the individuals listed had been killed in earlier strikes during the war. The list also included the names of three elderly civilians with no military connections, including a school principal, the deputy mayor of Beit Hanoun and a university professor, as well as several opponents of Hamas.
The incident also comes several weeks after Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in what Hamas said was an Israeli strike in Tehran, where Haniyeh was attending the swearing-in ceremony of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
Middle East Eye delivers independent and unrivalled coverage and analysis of the Middle East, North Africa and beyond. To learn more about republishing this content and the associated fees, please fill out this form. More about MEE can be found here.
