On Saturday, the families of the Israeli prisoners demanded the release of all prisoners and an end to the war, stressing, “We want the prisoners returned all at once, and if Netanyahu refuses, we must topple him.”
The families of the prisoners said in a statement that Hamas is ready to release their sons from the Gaza Strip, noting that it is Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who is refusing this.
They added that 70% of Israelis want to stop the war and return the prisoners, adding, “But what we see is a war without a horizon.”
They added, “The criminal Netanyahu is lying to us when he says that military pressure will bring back our sons.”
They called on US President Donald Trump to pressure Netanyahu to return the prisoners.
The families continued, “We warned that military pressure would kill the prisoners, but Netanyahu did not listen.”
Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, released footage on Saturday evening of its rescue of Israeli prisoners inside a tunnel after it was bombed by Israeli aircraft a few days ago.
The footage showed members of the Qassam Brigades digging inside the tunnel and speaking to the Israeli prisoners in Hebrew, seeking to rescue them. The footage also showed the treatment of one of the prisoners after he was wounded in the bombing. He said, “My body hurts… I find it difficult to breathe.”
Qassam Brigades still hold approximately 60 Israeli prisoners, most of them soldiers, and are demanding their release be conditional upon an end to the war of extermination in Gaza and a prisoner exchange deal.
Qassam Brigades released dozens of Israeli prisoners in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners during the first phase of the ceasefire agreement, which went into effect on January 19 and lasted for 42 days.
