Hamas says 13 hostages killed in air strikes on Gaza. ‘Lies,’ Israel says
At least 13 Israeli and foreign hostages held in the northern Gaza Strip have been killed in Israeli air strikes in the past 24 hours, Hamas’ armed wing said on Friday.
An Israeli military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari denied that, telling Al-Jazeera Arabic that “we have our own information and do not believe the lies of Hamas”.
In a surprise assault early on Saturday, Hamas militants stormed Israeli communities near the Gaza border and fired barrages of rockets, in an attack that claimed more than 1,300 lives.
Israel says Hamas has taken more than 150 people hostage, including both civilians and security forces.
“Thirteen prisoners … including foreigners” were killed in five locations targeted by Israeli fighter jets, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades said in a statement.
It did not give the nationality of the foreigners.
Israel has rained air and artillery strikes on the blockaded Gaza Strip – a densely populated enclave of 2.4 million people – flattening buildings and killing more than 1,500 people.
According to the Hamas media office in Gaza, at least 500 children are among the dead.
The Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades had warned this week that “every targeting of our people without warning will be met with the execution of one of the civilian hostages”.
Additional reporting by Associated Press
