Shocking Hamas claim: Israeli bombings killed 50 hostages

Hours after Israeli commandos raided the Gaza Strip in what was described as a “dress rehearsal” for the much-debated ground operation in Gaza, Abu Obeida, spokesman for the Ezzedin al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, announced that today, Thursday 26.10, as a result of Israeli shelling of the Palestinian enclave, “about 50” hostages captured by militants were killed.

Obeida made the announcement in a post on the Hamas Telegram account, but did not provide further details about the hostages. Reuters could not confirm whether this extremely unpleasant news was true.

BREAKING: Approximately 50 people held hostage in Gaza have been killed by Israeli airstrikes, according a spokesperson for Hamas's armed wing, Abu Obeida.

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Earlier today, the Israeli army announced that at least 224 people were being held captive in the Gaza Strip, and Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Daniel Hagari said their families had been informed. According to the same data, among them are 30 children – incl. babies just a few weeks old(!), which were stolen from Israeli territory.

At the same time, the Hamas Ministry of Health statedthat since the start of Israeli airstrikes on Gaza A total of 7,028 people were killed, including 2,913 children and 1,709 women, and 18,484 people were injured.

Delegations of Hamas and Iran are in Russia today for negotiations. Thus, the Russian state news agency RIA, citing a source in the Palestinian delegation in Moscow, reported a visit to the Russian capital by a high-ranking Hamas representative Abu Marzouk, and the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova reportedthat Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Baeri Kani is also at the meeting site.

The Russian Foreign Ministry stated that during contacts in Moscow with Hamas it was discussed immediate release of foreign hostageslocated in the Gaza Strip. Statement by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs published by Russian media.

Hamas and Iran are meeting in Russia right now.

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Zakharova did not specify either the agenda or the content of the negotiations between the Russian government and the two delegations that visited Russia today for the first time since the start of a new war in the Middle East. However, she said Iran’s deputy minister, who is also head of Tehran’s nuclear negotiating team, met in Moscow with his Russian counterpart Mikhail Galuzin.

Russia maintains ties with all key players in the Middle East, including Israel, Iran, the Palestinian Authority and Hamas. She blames the current situation on the “failure” of US diplomacy and calls for a ceasefire and the resumption of negotiations to find a peaceful solution. It is noted that the delegation includes precisely members of the Politburo of the Palestinian movement. It is led by movement member Abu Marzouk.

The Palestinian movement Hamas was formed in 1987. Its main goal is to create a Palestinian state on territory that belonged to Palestine before the formation of Israel. Moreover, the movement is divided into two separate parts. One of them is the legal political wing. The second part is the paramilitary one, which is fighting in Israel at the moment.

Israel, for its part, called the invitation of the Hamas delegation to Moscow an “undignified step” and demanded that the Russian Federation immediately expel them. This follows from a statement by the Israeli Foreign Ministry.

Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) responded by launching Operation Iron Swords, and the country declared a state of war. According to the latest data, about 8,000 people were killed in the Palestinian-Israeli war, including more than 6,500 Palestinians.

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