Qassam Brigades Declare Contact Lost with Israeli Hostages and Issue Ultimatum to the Occupation

The Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), announced on Sunday that communication has been lost with two Israeli hostages, Omri Miran and Matan Engrist. The brigades attributed the communication failure to the "barbaric military operations and intense targeting" carried out by the occupation forces in the Sabra and Tal Al-Hawa neighbourhoods of Gaza City over the last 48 hours.

In a sharply worded post on Telegram, Al-Qassam warned that the lives of the two hostages are in "real danger". The brigades then issued an urgent ultimatum to the occupation forces. They demanded that the forces immediately withdraw south of Street 8 and implement a complete cessation of all aerial sorties for a period of 24 hours, starting from 18:00 this evening (15:00 GMT), to allow for an attempt to extract the hostages. The statement concluded ominously with the phrase: "He who is forewarned is duly cautioned," signaling that the occupation would bear full responsibility for any future consequences.

This development occurs as occupation forces have been intensifying their incursions into Gaza City in recent weeks as part of an operation dubbed "Gideon's Chariots 2", which Palestinian resistance groups assert is aimed at "completing the destruction and occupation of the city." The Palestinian Resistance has consistently warned that such military escalation jeopardises the lives of the Israeli prisoners. They have held the occupation government, led by Benjamin Netanyahu (who is notably wanted by the International Criminal Court), "fully responsible for the fate of these hostages."

Since October 2023, Israel, with the backing of the United States, has been waging a comprehensive "war of annihilation" against the population of the Gaza Strip. This campaign involves not only widespread killing and destruction but also policies of starvation and forced displacement. These actions have been carried out in clear disregard of repeated international calls for a ceasefire and the binding orders issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The ongoing devastation has resulted in over 66,000 martyrs and 168,000 injured. Furthermore, the deliberate policy of starvation has led to the death of more than 440 Palestinians, including 147 children, according to statistics from the Ministry of Health in Gaza.