Hamas: Netanyahu trying to end captives’ case by starving them

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A group of people, gathered at Habima Square in Tel Aviv, Israel, stage a demonstration demanding the return of Israeli hostages in Gaza on August 2, 2025. [Saeed Qaq – Anadolu Agency]

Izzat al-Rishq, a member of Hamas’s political bureau, said on Sunday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is attempting to “end the issue of the captives held in Gaza by starving them to death after failing to locate and kill them through bombing.”

In a statement published on Telegram, al-Rishq expressed regret that “hunger has reached the Israeli captives,” but held “Netanyahu and his Nazi-like government fully responsible,” accusing them of launching “a starvation and thirst war against our people, the effects of which have now reached their captives.”

On Friday, al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s military wing, released footage of Israeli captive Evyatar David, who appeared severely underweight due to what was described as Israel’s ongoing starvation policy in Gaza.

Similarly, on Thursday, al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of Islamic Jihad, released a video it said was the last footage of captive Rom Braslavski before contact was lost with the group holding him. In the video, Braslavski appeared to be in an extremely frail physical condition, allegedly due to the starvation imposed by Israel on Gaza.

Commenting on this, al-Rishq said, “Our resistance fighters treat their captives according to our religious teachings and human values. They feed them from what they eat and give them water from what they drink, just as all our people do.”

READ: Netanyahu asks Red Cross to help care for Israeli captives in Gaza

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Former Israeli security chiefs warn: Israel on verge of defeat, Gaza war must end now

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An Israeli army soldier walks near a main battle tank deployed at a position along the border with the Gaza Strip and southern Israel on July 29, 2025. [Jack GUEZ / AFP/Getty Images]

Pressure to end the war intensified further on Sunday evening, as a large group of former senior security officials launched a campaign calling for the Gaza war to stop immediately.

The group included former heads of key Israeli security bodies from past decades, such as former Chiefs of Staff, police commissioners, and former heads of Shin Bet, Mossad, and Military Intelligence.

They warned that Israel is now “on the verge of defeat”, stressing that the war could have ended yesterday and that all hostages in Gaza could have been released in one go.

In a video lasting over three minutes, recorded in recent days during a meeting of those former senior officials, the group presents its arguments for an immediate ceasefire.

In the video, the former military leaders say: “Together, we hold over a thousand years of experience. It is our duty to speak up and say what must be said: we are on the verge of defeat.”

READ: Netanyahu asks Red Cross to help care for Israeli captives in Gaza

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Israeli forces raid Al Jazeera office in Ramallah, extend closure order

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Pictures of slain al-Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh hang on the facade of the building housing the television station’s office in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, after Israel issued a 45-day closure order on September 22, 2024. [ JAAFAR ASHTIYEH/AFP via Getty Images]

Israeli occupation forces raided the closed Al Jazeera office in central Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, shortly after midnight.

The troops extended the closure order for an additional 60 days and posted a new military order on the office entrance, according to the network.

In September last year, Israeli forces stormed the Al Jazeera office in Ramallah under a military order, handed its staff a closure notice, confiscated all equipment and documents, and barred employees from using their vehicles.

Al Jazeera had previously condemned the raid and shutdown, saying such repressive actions are aimed at preventing the world from seeing the true situation in the occupied Palestinian territories and the ongoing war on Gaza. Widespread reactions have since condemned the move.

In a statement, the network described the raid as a “criminal act” and said the ongoing Israeli crackdown on free media seeks to conceal its actions in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

The statement rejected the Israeli authorities’ claims used to justify what it called an unlawful raid. It held the government of Benjamin Netanyahu fully responsible for the safety of its journalists and vowed to pursue legal steps to defend its rights and those of its staff.

Al Jazeera also affirmed its commitment to continue reporting the truth with professionalism and impartiality, despite Israeli measures aimed at silencing it.

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