Senior Hamas official Khalil Al-Hayya has blamed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the deaths of six Israeli hostages held by the group.
Al-Hayya said that dozens of hostages in Gaza had been killed by Israeli “strikes along with those who were sitting, guarding, and living with them,” though he did not provide any evidence for this claim.
Israel and Hamas trade blame: Hamas said Israel is the one “who bears responsibility” for the deaths of the six hostages and that Israeli strikes killed them.
Israel’s military said the hostages were killed “a short while” before troops reached them. Israel’s health ministry said they were killed by short-range shots about 48-72 hours before being examined in an autopsy.
Details on Hersh Goldberg-Polin: Al-Hayya also spoke about Hersh Goldberg-Polin, one of the six hostages.
Al-Hayya said Goldberg-Polin’s family had wanted reassurance that their son was alive and well. After an intervention from Qatari officials, Al-Hayya said, a video of him was released to his family in which he speaks to his parents and addresses the Israeli government.
It’s unclear if the video Al-Hayya is referencing is the same one released to Goldberg-Polin’s family in April.
Deal under strain: Al-Hayya told Al Jazeera that “it seems Netanyahu and his team don’t care” about the hostages.
Al-Hayya said that, when it came to Netanyahu choosing between the release of the hostages in a deal and maintaining Israeli military presence at the Philadelphi corridor, the “Philadelphi (corridor) was more important.” The corridor has been a major sticking point in hostage negotiations.
