![Members of the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas in Khan Yunis, Gaza on February 20, 2025.[Ali Jadallah - Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/AA-20250220-37110050-37110044-HAMAS_HANDS_OVER_BODIES_OF_4_ISRAELI_CAPTIVES_UNDER_GAZA_CEASEFIRE_DEAL.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1)
Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, warned Friday that the life of Israeli captives held in the areas that are being ordered to be evacuated by the Israeli army are “threatened”, Anadolu reports.
“Half of the living Israeli prisoners are located in areas in which the Israeli occupation army has requested to be evacuated in recent days,” spokesman Abu Obaida said in a statement.
He noted that his group decided “not to transfer these prisoners from these areas, and to keep them under strict security measures, which are extremely dangerous to their lives,” without disclosing further information.
“If the enemy is concerned about the lives of these prisoners, they must immediately negotiate their evacuation or release,” he said.
Abu Obaida held Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government responsible “for the lives of the prisoners,” adding if Israel committed to a January ceasefire “most of them would probably be in their homes today.”
The Israeli government is yet to comment on the statement.
Netanyahu vowed Sunday to escalate attacks on Gaza as efforts are underway to implement US President Donald Trump’s plan to displace Palestinians from the enclave.
The Israeli army launched a surprise aerial campaign on Gaza on March 18, killing 1,249 people and injuring 3,022 despite a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement with Hamas that took hold in January.
More than 50,600 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in Israel’s military onslaught since October 2023, most of them women and children.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
READ: Israeli captives in Gaza warn Israel's bombs are endangering their lives