Video allegedly shows kidnapping
Hamas claims to have captured Israeli soldiers
26.05.2024, 04:42
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Hamas claims to have ambushed and captured several Israeli soldiers in the Gaza Strip. Israel’s army denies this – but the statement leaves questions unanswered.
Hamas claims to have captured Israeli soldiers in the Gaza Strip. Hamas fighters attacked an Israeli army unit in a tunnel in the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip and “killed, wounded or captured” all members, said Abu Obeida, spokesman for the armed Hamas wing.
The terrorist organization released a video showing an injured person being dragged along the ground in a tunnel, as well as photos showing military equipment and weapons. The content of the video and the photos cannot be independently verified. Hamas did not say how many Israeli soldiers were captured.
The Israeli army rejected Hamas’s account. “The IDF (Israel Defense Forces) makes it clear that there was no incident in which a soldier was kidnapped,” the military said in a statement. The statement, however, leaves open whether soldiers may have been killed or injured.
Thousands demonstrate in Tel Aviv
Israel continued its military offensive in the city of Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip on Saturday with air strikes and artillery fire. According to eyewitnesses and journalists from the AFP news agency, there were also attacks and clashes between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian militants in other parts of the Palestinian territory, such as in Deir al-Balah, in the city of Gaza and in Jabalia in the north of the Gaza Strip.
Talks on a ceasefire and the release of the surviving hostages came to a standstill this month. According to government sources, Israel intends to resume negotiations next week.
Tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered in Tel Aviv on Saturday evening to protest against the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. They demanded new elections and measures to secure the release of the Hamas hostages. The demonstrators held a minute’s silence for the dead hostages. Later, the police used horses and water cannon to disperse the demonstrators; the Times of Israel reported several arrests. 121 hostages are still being held in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli army assumes that at least 37 of them are now dead.