The Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of Islamic Jihad, have released a video holding Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu responsible for the deaths of Israeli prisoners detained in Gaza.
Today, the Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad Movement, aired a video message addressed to the families of Israeli prisoners held in Gaza. The message blamed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the deaths of their relatives, who are currently in Palestinian custody.
The video was titled, “Your leadership is deliberately and determinedly killing your sons.”
The footage included a previous statement from Netanyahu, in which he reiterated his commitment to securing the safe return of Israeli prisoners to their families, calling it one of his highest priorities.
The video also displayed the scale of Israeli airstrikes on Gaza since the commencement of the current Israeli offensive. It featured the voices of Israeli prisoners who appeared to be injured or killed during the air raids, as their captors attempted to rescue or recover them.
Israeli Prisoners Missing
The release of the video coincided with reports from a Hamas military source to Al Jazeera, which claimed that “most of the enemy’s prisoners in the northern Gaza brigade area are now missing due to the ongoing Zionist aggression.” The source further emphasized that the Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s military wing, had repeatedly warned of such an outcome, holding Netanyahu’s government and the Israeli military fully responsible for the fate of their prisoners.
The Al-Quds Brigades published a video on Friday that included a message to the families of the Israeli detainees held by the Palestinian Resistance in the Gaza Strip. pic.twitter.com/fpQYCKsqX1
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) January 10, 2025
In a separate development, the family of Hamza al-Zayadna, an Israeli prisoner whose body was retrieved from Gaza, refused to allow Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir to speak at his funeral. The Zayadna family, according to Haaretz, stated that “there was an opportunity to bring the captives back alive, but they were killed due to ill-advised decisions.”
Stalled Negotiations
The video’s release also comes amid a breakdown in prisoner exchange negotiations between Israel and Hamas, which have been mediated by Qatar, Egypt, and the US. These talks have stalled multiple times due to new conditions imposed by Netanyahu or his reversals of previously agreed terms. Meanwhile, Israel continues its indiscriminate military assault on Gaza.
Israeli opposition parties and the families of Israeli prisoners have accused Netanyahu of obstructing a deal to preserve his political standing. Far-right ministers, including Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, have threatened to leave the government and bring it down if Netanyahu agrees to end the war in Gaza.
‘We Managed to Rescue One’ – Abu Obeida Says Israel Deliberately Killed Captives
Ron Arad’s Scenario
On April 23, 2024, Al-Qassam spokesman Abu Obeida commented that “the Ron Arad scenario might be the most likely to be repeated with enemy prisoners in Gaza.” He stressed that “so-called military pressure will only strengthen our resolve to stand firm and protect the rights of our people.”
Ron Arad, an Israeli pilot, was shot down in southern Lebanon in October 1986, and his fate remains unknown.
(PC, AJA)
