He Islamist group Hamas threatened today to “publicly” execute Israeli civilian hostages if Israel continues indiscriminate bombing of the Gaza Strip without warning residents.
“Any attack on innocent homes in Gaza without prior warning and alert will be met with the public execution of a hostage,” Abu Obeida, spokesman for the Al Qasam brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, said in a statement. “The execution will be of civilian hostages, not military, and will be broadcast online,” he added.
Israel has been intensely bombarding the entire enclave throughout the dayincluding military facilities of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, but also civilian infrastructure and residential buildings.
The dead in the enclave exceed 560 and the injured more than 2,900, according to data from the Gaza Ministry of Health, but it is estimated that the number will rise in the coming hours because there are people trapped under the rubble of destroyed homes.
Palestinians in the strip denounced today that Israel has stopped using the method known as “knocks on the roof”, by which non-explosive devices are thrown onto the roofs of houses as a warning that they are going to bomb in a few minutes, so that the population can leave, often with just enough time.