The Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), broadcast a video clip warning of the mysterious fate of the Israelis they captured in the attack of last October 7, just as happened with former prisoners held by the movement before the start of the war.
Al-Qassam said in the video clip, “Hadar Goldin, Shaul Aron, Hisham al-Sayyid, and Abraham Mengistu have been arrested for more than 10 years.”
She wondered, “Have their people and their families forgotten them, just as their government and army have neglected them?” She added, warning, “Will the October 7 prisoners spend what they did?”
She concluded the video with the hashtag “Time is running out,” which she used to publish, in reference to the shrinking period of time available to conclude an exchange deal with the increasing number of Israeli prisoners killed in Gaza as a result of the intense bombing by the occupation army.
Yesterday, Thursday, Al-Qassam said that the commander of the Southern Brigade in the Gaza Division of the occupation army, Assaf Hamami, was captured on October 7, revealing that he had been injured during his arrest, but it left ambiguity about his current fate and contented itself with the phrase, “A leadership leaves its army leaders in captivity.” .
The Phalange held Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, War Council member Benny Gantz, and Chief of Staff Herzi Halevy responsible for leaving Hammami in captivity and not caring about his fate.
Israeli prisoners before the war
Before the current war, the Al-Qassam Brigades were holding 4 Israelis, including two soldiers (Golden and Aaron) who were captured during the 2014 war. As for the other two – who reports say were soldiers discharged from service – they entered Gaza under unclear circumstances.
Hamas did not previously disclose the fate of the four detainees, but Israel claims that its soldiers were killed in the war, and that Al-Qassam keeps only their remains, and described Mengistu and Al-Sayyed as “civilians who crossed the border while they were alive.”
In the summer of 2022, Al-Qassam broadcast a video clip of Al-Sayed – who was captured in the Gaza Strip in April 2015 – and said that his health had deteriorated.
On April 23, the Phalange’s spokesman, Abu Ubaida, said that “the Ron Arad scenario may be the most likely to be repeated with the enemy prisoners in Gaza,” stressing that “the so-called military pressure will only push us to remain firm in our positions and preserve the rights of our people and not neglect them.” .
In early March, Abu Ubaida revealed that the number of Israeli prisoners who were killed as a result of the “enemy” army’s military operations in the Gaza Strip “may exceed 70 prisoners.”
On October 7, Al-Qassam carried out a major attack on bases, barracks and settlements around the Gaza Strip, killing hundreds of Israeli soldiers and officers, and capturing at least 240 Israelis, more than a hundred of whom were released during a temporary humanitarian truce last November. .