Hamas releases two US captives for 'humanitarian reason'

The military wing of the Palestinian Hamas resistance movement has released two US captives for “humanitarian reasons” in response to Qatari mediation efforts.

Abu Ubaida, the spokesman for al-Qassam Brigades, said on Friday an American mother and her daughter were released “to prove to the US nation and the world that the allegations made by [President Joe] Biden and his fascist administration are false and baseless.”

Abu Ubaida previously said the number of Israelis who have been captured during the al-Aqsa Storm operation is around 250, noting that 200 of them are held by al-Qassam while the rest are kept by other Palestinian resistance factions.

He noted that al-Qassam found that there were captives from different nationalities who were being interrogated, adding that those proven to have no connection to Israeli crimes will be released when security conditions allow.

'Goodwill' gesture

Ghazi Hamad, a member of Hamas’s political bureau, has said the release of two US captives is a “goodwill” gesture by the group.

“This is a gesture of goodwill from Hamas to prove for all the international community that Hamas is not a terrorist organization,” he told Al Jazeera when asked whether Hamas received anything in return.

Hamad said Hamas is ready to “deal with the issue of the prisoners in a positive way” but first, the Israeli bombardment of Gaza must stop. He added that the group is treating the captives with “dignity and respect.”

On October 7, the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas launched Operation Al-Aqsa Storm deep into the territories occupied by the Israeli regime in reaction to the recurring desecration of al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied al-Quds, the 16-year-old blockade of Gaza as well as intensified Israeli atrocities against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

The campaign killed at least 1,500 Israeli forces and settlers and injured more than 4,800 others.

Meanwhile, Israel conducted intensive air strikes on civilian targets in the Gaza Strip, killing more than 4,100 Palestinians in Gaza and wounding over 13,000 others.

The regime has also intensified the siege of Gaza, leaving the city, home to more than 2.3 million Palestinians, without water, electricity, fuel and internet.

MG