Hamas releases third video message from executed hostage
Hamas releases another video message from an executed hostage and confirms the dead captives were on a list to be freed in a ceasefire deal as the US reveals terrorism charges against the group’s leaders.
Hamas has published another final message from one of the six hostages the militant group executed last week, shortly before Israeli troops found their bodies.
On Tuesday (AEST) Hamas taunted hostage families with video messages from American-Israeli Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, and Eden Yerushalmi, 24. On Wednesday Hamas released a video of Ori Danino, 25, accusing the government of abandoning the hostages.
Addressing the Israeli government and military, Mr Danino says in the video: “Today you are trying to kill us one after another in failed rescue attempts.”
He adds in a message to Israelis: “Keep doing everything until we get out of here alive ... because at this pace no one will survive.”
The video, published on Telegram, ends with a threat from Hamas that failure to reach a ceasefire deal would result in more hostage deaths, with a picture of sand running through an hour glass and the message; “Time is running out.”
In a cruel twist, Hamas also confirmed that at least some of the executed hostages had been on the list of captives to be freed in the first phase of new truce.
The latest video was published as the US charged Hamas leaders with a raft of “terrorism” offenses, federal court documents unsealed on Tuesday local time revealed.
Six men -- including Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar and late political leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed in late July in Tehran -- were named in the charging document dated February 1, accused of “conspiracy to provide material support for acts of terrorism resulting in death” along with six other counts.
The document also contained a request for the arrest of the individuals.
“The charges unsealed today are just one part of our effort to target every aspect of Hamas’s operations. These actions will not be our last,” US Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.
“Yahya Sinwar and the other senior leaders of Hamas are charged today with orchestrating this terrorist organization’s decades-long campaign of mass violence and terror -- including on October 7th.”
Meanwhile, the UK’s decision to suspend some arms sales to Israel has caused a diplomatic row between the two countries, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denouncing the move as “shameful,” saying it would only “embolden” Hamas.
Britain has suspended 30 out of 350 arms export licences to Israel due to a “clear risk” the weapons could be used in breach of international humanitarian law, Foreign Secretary David Lammy told MPs on Tuesday.
He said the partial ban covered items “which could be used in the current conflict in Gaza”, including fighter aircraft, helicopters and drones but does not include parts for Israel’s advanced F-35 stealth fighter jets.
Mr Lammy announced a review into Israel’s conduct of its war against Hamas militants shortly after Keir Starmer’s Labour Party swept to power in a landslide general election victory over the Conservatives in early July.
Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz slammed the decision, saying: “A step of the type taken by Britain now sends a very problematic message to the terrorist organisation Hamas and its agents in Iran.”
The government took into account factors including public statements from members of Netanyahu’s cabinet, the London Times reports. Itamar Ben Gvir, Israel’s far-right national security minister, has called for the killing of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli detention. He has advocated the occupation of more Palestinian land and the establishment of an illegal Jewish-only settlement in the Gaza Strip.
US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Britain had informed Washington of their decision
“It’s not that we disagree with the UK position, it’s that the UK makes an assessment based on their legal framework,” Mr Miller said.
“We make an assessment based on our own legal frameworks,” he said, adding that Washington was still reviewing incidents.
The State Department in May said it did not have enough evidence to block shipments of weapons but that it was “reasonable to assess” that Israel has used arms in ways inconsistent with standards on humanitarian law.
The US provides about $3 billion in weapons to Israel each year compared with Britain, which supplies only 0.02 per cent of the country’s arsenal.
It came amid a renewed push for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas with Washington calling for urgency and flexibility to finalise a deal after the executions of six hostages in Gaza at the weekend.
On Wednesday, the White House said an Israel-approved framework for a hostage deal included the withdrawal of Israeli troops from heavily populated areas along the Philadelphi Corridor on Egypt’s border with Gaza, a day after Mr Netanyahu declared that Israel would keep its forces on the 14 km stretch for the foreseeable future.
“The deal itself, including the bridging proposal that we started working with … includes the removal of Israeli Defence Forces from all densely populated areas, and that includes those areas along and adjacent to that corridor,” White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters. “That’s the proposal that Israel had agreed to.”
Speaking in the wake of emotional funerals for the six executed hostages on Tuesday (AEST), Mr Netanyahu had apologised for “failing” to bring them home safely but insisted on the necessity of keeping the IDF in the Philadelphi Corridor, arguing that removing troops would result in Hamas rearming, with weapons again being smuggled into the Gaza Strip, along with the possibility of hostages being smuggled out to Iran.
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told a press conference the US would work “over the coming days” with mediators Egypt and Qatar “to push for a final agreement.”
“There are dozens of hostages still remaining in Gaza, still waiting for a deal that will bring them home. It is time to finalise that deal,” he said.
“The people of Israel cannot afford to wait any longer. The Palestinian people, who are also suffering the terrible effects of this war, cannot afford to wait any longer. The world cannot afford to wait any longer.”
Britain’s decision to suspend some arms licences followed decisions in July to resume funding for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) and drop a legal challenge over international arrest warrants for senior Israeli figures including Mr Netanyahu.
And last week the UK foreign ministry said it was “deeply” concerned by an Israeli military operation in the occupied West Bank, urging it to “exercise restraint” and adhere to international law.
On July 19, Mr Lammy announced that the UK was lifting a funding suspension for UNRWA.
The pause had been imposed in January over Israeli claims that some UNRWA staff were involved in Hamas’s October 7 attack that resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people, mostly civilians.
On July 26, Downing Street confirmed it was dropping the previous government’s legal challenge to arrest warrants sought by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for Mr Netanyahu and others over alleged war crimes.
If granted, Britain as an ICC member state would technically be obliged to arrest Mr Netanyahu and the others if they travelled to the UK.
With AFP
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