If Israel continues its raids against Hamas, more captives will return in “coffins” the terrorist group warned. The militant group’s armed wing Qassam Brigades issued the statement two days after the bodies of six captives were recovered from a Gaza tunnel by Israeli forces.

According to a report by Al Jazeera, the warning also stated that “new instructions” had been given to Hamas fighters guarding the captives in case Israeli troops approached.

“[Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu’s insistence on freeing the captives through military pressure instead of reaching a deal means they will go back to their families in coffins. Their families have to choose between receiving them dead or alive,” Abu Obeida, spokesman for the Qassam Brigades, said in a statement on Monday, two days after the bodies of six captives were recovered by Israel.

“Netanyahu and the army are fully responsible for the death of the captives after they intentionally hindered any prisoners’ exchange deal,” it said. Senior Hamas official, Izzat al-Risheq, said the six captives were killed in Israeli air strikes, and not by the Hamas terrorist group.

This statement from the Qassam Brigades came shortly after Netanyahu said the six captives whose bodies were recovered from a tunnel in southern Gaza’s Rafah area had been “executed” by Hamas, meaning they were not killed during Israel’s raid. Who is lying? It likely depends on which side you’ve chosen to be on in this horrific war.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu apologized for the deaths of the hostages. “I ask for your forgiveness for not bringing them back alive,” Netanyahu said during a televised news conference earlier on Monday as protests over the deaths continued for a second day in Israel.

Record Anti-Netanyahu Protests, Labor Strikes, Bring Israel To A Standstill

“We were close, but we didn’t succeed. Hamas will pay a very heavy price for this,” he added.

Protestors currently feel that the hostage deaths could have been avoided had Netanyahu just signed a cease-fire agreement with Hamas. So far, the months of negotiations have failed to secure any kind of deal that would lead to hostages being released, and an end to this war.

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