(TheRedAlertNews.com) – HAPPENING NOW: Reaching a new high of threat to innocent lives, the Palestinian Islamist terror group Hamas has handed vital US ally Israel an ultimatum, declaring that there was no chance it would free the hostages it took on October 7 until the Israeli military pulled out of the Gaza Strip.
More than 130 hostages remain in the terrorists’ hands, after, on October 7, Hamas massacred over 1,400 people in Israel and captured 240 others.
According to a Hamas spokesperson, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s refusal to remove Israeli troops from Gaza eliminates any possibility of the return of Israeli captives.
Following Netanyahu’s rejection of an agreement he believed would perpetuate Hamas’s control in Gaza, Hamas issued a stern ultimatum, Reuters reports, cited by National Review.
“I reject outright the terms of surrender of the monsters of Hamas. If we accept this, we won’t be able to guarantee the safety of our citizens. We will not be able to bring evacuees home safely and the next October 7 will only be a matter of time,” Netanyahu stated over the past weekend.
Israeli authorities report that approximately 136 of the 240 Israelis abducted by Hamas on October 7 are still held in Gaza.
In a 16-page document released on Sunday, Hamas described their actions on October 7, which resulted in a massacre, as “a necessary step and a normal response to confront all Israeli conspiracies against the Palestinian people.”
“If there was any case of targeting civilians; it happened accidentally and in the course of the confrontation with the occupation forces,” claimed the terrorist organization, which is an Iranian proxy.
It added it was possible that there might have been “maybe some faults” in their approach.
Netanyahu, in a statement, outlined Hamas’ conditions for releasing hostages, including ending the conflict, withdrawing Israeli forces from Gaza, and freeing all individuals Hamas labels as “murderers and rapists.”
US President Joe Biden, advocating for the establishment of a Palestinian state post-conflict, discussed with Netanyahu the concept of a “two state-solution with Israel’s security guaranteed.”
Netanyahu, however, insists on complete Israeli security control over all territories west of the Jordan River to avert the risk of a Palestinian state posing “an existential threat” to Israel.
Amidst these tensions, six Americans remain captive in Gaza under Hamas.
On the centenary of the October 7 incident, President Biden pledged his unwavering commitment to rescuing the Americans.
