Hamas says Israel must heed to captives' demands

ISTANBUL

Hamas on Monday said Israel must heed to the demands of its captives held in Gaza, who in a video message called for their release in exchange of Palestinian prisoners.

"The (Israeli) occupation leaders must heed the message of the captives held by the (Palestinian) resistance in Gaza before it's too late," spokesman Abdel-Latif al-Qanoua said in a statement.

He said expanding the ground operation in Gaza may put the lives of captives in danger, and only Israel will be to blame.

In the video, an Israeli woman captive urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to release all Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails in exchange for their release.

Netanyahu, in response, described the video as a "cruel psychological propaganda" by Hamas, and said that "we are doing everything we can to bring all the kidnapped and missing home."

Hamas says it has in captivity up to 250 people, including Israeli soldiers and civilians, who were held during its Oct. 7 cross border attacks.

Israeli army, which has heavily bombarded Gaza for three weeks, expanded its operations over the weekend which included ground incursion.

The Israeli prime minister, in his remarks at a meeting of the war cabinet on Monday, said "we have set the clear goal of destroying Hamas' military and governing capabilities."

He said the second stage of "pounding them from the air is continuing" and in the third stage the army "has expanded its ground incursion inside the Gaza Strip."

“At the same time, we are continuing the efforts to free the hostages, both with the maneuver, which is even creating possibilities of securing release that we will not miss,” Netanyahu added.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar