A senior "Hamas" said that "nobody has a clue" how many of the 120 remaining hostages in Gaza are alive. The comment was made in an interview with CNN.
In an interview with CNN, the spokesman for "Hamas" and Politburo member Osama Hamdan said: "I have no idea about that. Nobody has a clue about it." CNN reports that he claimed -- without providing any evidence -- that the Israeli operation to free four hostages on Saturday resulted in the deaths of three others, including a US citizen.
Hamdan was asked about the testimony of a doctor who treated the freed hostages, who reported that they suffered mental and physical abuse and were beaten hourly. He replied:
I believe if they have mental problems it is because of what Israel did in Gaza. Because no one can deal with what Israel is doing, bombing every day, killing civilians, killing women and children... they saw it with their own eyes."
Hamdan said any deal to release the hostages held in Gaza would have to include guarantees for a permanent ceasefire and the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.
Hamdan also told CNN that the latest US-backed proposal does not meet Hamas' demands, with a key issue being the length of the truce.
"Hamas" wants written guarantees from the US for a permanent cease-fire, plus the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip, in order to sign the ceasefire proposal, two Egyptian security sources told Reuters earlier this week.
Hamdan also denied reports that the head of "Hamas" in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar suggested that the death of thousands of Palestinians was a "necessary sacrifice". Hamdan told CNN that the reports reported by the Wall Street Journal "are false".
According to the CNN report, "Hamdan repeatedly deflected any questions about the role of "Hamas" in the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza" and called the October 7 attacks that sparked the current war in Gaza a "reaction to the occupation".