Israel urged to halt strikes amid search for hostages

Hamas’s armed wing has urged Israel to temporarily halt airstrikes as it searches for two Israeli hostages it has lost contact with, France 24 plus AFP, AP and Reuters reported on September 28th.

The Israeli army has also been asked to withdraw from Gaza City on September 28th as searches for the missing hostages go ahead.

A statement released by the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades said: “The lives of the two prisoners are in real danger, and [Israeli] forces must immediately withdraw to the south of Street 8 and halt aerial operations for 24 hours starting from 18:00 today to allow attempts to rescue the prisoners.”

Contact was lost with the hostages, Matan Angrest and Omri Miran, who went missing during intense Israeli military activity in two Gaza City areas.

“The al-Qassam Brigades announce the loss of contact with the two prisoners … due to the brutal military operations and violent attacks in the Sabra and Tal al-Hawa neighbourhoods over the past 48 hours,” the group said, in reference to areas where Israeli forces have accelerated air and ground attacks.

The statement called for Israeli air sorties to be stopped for 24 hours in areas of Gaza City, beginning at 6pm local time, so that the captives could safe from harm.

On October 7th, 2023, 251 Israelis were taken hostage by Hamas, with 48 believed to still be trapped in the Gaza Strip; around 20 of the remaining hostages are reportedly still alive.

Israel’s military launched an intensified military operation into Gaza City on September 16th, reportedly seeking to seize areas it described as Hamas strongholds.

Gaza’s civil defence agency said that at least 64 people were killed by Israeli airstrikes on September 17th with 41 of the dead being killed in Gaza City.

Doctors in Gaza City have said that the hospitals were overwhelmed by the casualties caused by Israeli airstrikes, while thousands of the city’s residents have been forced to flee due to Israel’s attacks.

The renewed attack is part of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security plan that aims to completely defeat Hamas in Gaza, while releasing the remaining hostages and providing humanitarian aid to the civilian population outside of military zones.

As reported on July 14th, relatives of hostages detained in Gaza expressed concerns, that Netanyahu was deliberately stalling a potential ceasefire deal.

It was reported on June 26th that 62% of Israelis wanted their nation to reach a deal with Hamas that would free the remaining hostages held in Gaza, while also ending Israel’s war on the Palestinian enclave.

In April, thousands of Israeli military reservists signed letters that called on Netanyahu to halt the conflict and focus on reaching a deal that would secure the release of the remaining captives.

Despite the sentiment of the Israeli public being described by the ex-Israeli hostage mediator, Gershon Baskin, as “one of despair, trauma, and a lack of a sense of ability to change anything,” the Israeli government has asserted its aim to eliminate Hamas and achieve a “total victory.”

France 24 plus AFP, AP and Reuters, Maghrebi.org