The Hamas military wing Al-Qassam Brigades broadcast a video message holding Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responsible for the six prisoners killed in Gaza, after the Jewish occupation army announced that it had recovered the bodies of six detainees after they were found inside a tunnel in the Gaza Strip.
Al-Qassam acknowledged – at the beginning of the video – the prisoners killed had been alive and were supposed to be released as part of the first phase of the deal that was under discussion for months for a ceasefire in Gaza in return for the exchange of prisoners.
The Qassam stated in a message addressed to the Israeli people that “Netanyahu chose the Philadelphia axis at the expense of liberating your prisoners.” It quoted Netanyahu as saying: “If I were to give me a choice between Philadelphia and returning the kidnapped [prisoners], I would choose Philadelphia.”
Al-Qassam Brigades said that the six prisoners who were killed were supposed to be released in the first phase of the deal according to the Israeli media.
They said the return of the prisoners as bodies as a certainly not major achievement as the Israeli army claim. It askinged: “What kind of heroism is this? You are returning these detainees as bodies after you killed them intentionally.”
Al-Qassam Brigades concluded its video message by saying Netanyahu is creating dozens of Ron Arads.
On 23 April Brigades’ spokesman Abu Obeida said that “the Ron Arad scenario may be the most likely to be repeated with the enemy’s prisoners in Gaza,” stressing that “the so-called military pressure will only push us to stand firm in our positions and preserve the rights of our people…”
Earlier Sunday, the Israeli occupation army announced the recovery of the bodies of 6 detainees after they were found inside a tunnel in Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip, confirming their identities, while US President Joe Biden expressed his sadness over the death of one of them, Hersh Goldberg Polin, who holds American citizenship.
For its part, Hamas announced that the prisoners were killed in the ongoing Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip, and held the Netanyahu government and the US administration responsible for their deaths and the deaths of the prisoners who preceded them.
Last April, the Qassam Brigades published a video recording of the prisoner Polin in which he attacked the Netanyahu government and accused it of negligence and failure to work to release him and the rest of the detainees, according to JO24.