The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have uncovered cells in which Hamas was holding kidnapped hostages, according to reports from Israel’s state broadcaster, Kan. It is believed that these same cells were used to transport the hostages. There are also suspicions that Hamas has held prisoners, including Arab Palestinians, in similar cells.
Prior to this discovery, the Israeli army had announced the destruction of Hamas in the northern Gaza Strip.
Tensions escalated in the Middle East on October 7th when thousands of armed Hamas supporters infiltrated Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip. In response, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared the country to be in a state of war.
Israel’s objective in its retaliatory operation was to repel the attack, free over 200 hostages, including foreign nationals, and eliminate Hamas. From the first day of the operation, Israel carried out massive rocket attacks on the Gaza Strip as part of its efforts to achieve these goals. Additionally, the Israeli National Security Council decided to halt the supply of water, food, goods, electricity, and fuel to the Gaza Strip.
On November 22nd, Israel and Hamas reached an agreement on a humanitarian pause and the release of some hostages. The ceasefire officially took effect on November 24th and ended on the morning of December 1st. During the week of the ceasefire, Hamas released 110 captive hostages.
Hamas had previously released some of the hostages.
