Palestinian militant group Hamas, on Saturday, October 7, reportedly captured a number of Israeli soldiers and civilians during the storming on a military base in the northern Gaza Strip.
This comes after Palestinian militants in Gaza infiltrated southern Israel, sending fighters and firing 5,000 rockets, killing more than 40 Israelis and 750 injured.
Medical sources in Gaza told Al Jazeera that at least 198 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s attacks and 1610 wounded.
The Israeli army declared a ‘state of war’ alert after Hamas launched Operation “Al-Aqsa Flood”.
The Israeli Broadcast Authority said the number could be as high as 35.
The militants have also captured foreigners. Seven Nepalis have been injured in Israel and 17 captured by Hamas.
Hamas deputy chief Saleh al-Arouri told Al Jazeera that the group has captured “a big number” of Israelis. He says “senior officers” are among them.
Israel has not confirmed or verified these claims.
Videos and pictures circulated on social media platforms showed Israeli soldiers being captured by the militant group.
One of the videos shows armed fighters dragging an Israeli soldier from a tank, shouting and cheering while pulling him away.
The video depicts Palestinians displaying the body of a woman soldier of Israel and shouting religious slogans.
Another video shows an Israeli soldier’s hands tied and beaten in a van by Hamas members.
Hamas also released a video showing its fighters had captured three men, who are seen dressed in civilian clothes, as per a report by AFP.
This is not the first time that capture operations of occupation soldiers have taken place.
Since the outbreak of the first intifada in 1987, Palestinian factions have carried out capture operations of Israeli soldiers. Hamas holds four Israeli prisoners, including two soldiers who were captured during the war on Gaza in the summer of 2014.
