Masked men wearing bandanas showing the name and sigil of the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement, take part in a demonstration supporting the Palestinians in Beirut on October 20, 2023. Photo: AFP
"We informed Qatar that we will release two more captives for compelling humanitarian reasons with nothing in return, but Israel refused to accept them,” Abu Ubaida spokesman of Al-Qassam Brigades told Al-Jazeera.
The two Israeli captives have been identified as Nurit Yitzhak, with an ID card number of 001145416, and Yocheved Lifshitz, with an ID card number of 005236955. The announcement was made via the group's Telegram channel.
In response, the Office of Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, issued a statement, refuting Al-Qassam Brigades' claims and describing them as 'propaganda lies.'
However, in a subsequent message on their Telegram channel, the Al-Qassam Brigades announced their readiness to release the two captives tomorrow, following the same procedures that were adopted during the release of US detainees on Friday.
Judith and Natalie Raanan were released for ‘humanitarian reasons. The mother and daughter were handed over to the Red Cross which transported them from Gaza to Israel.
Zaher Jabareen, the official responsible for the captives' file in the Hamas movement, told Aljazeera that "civilians are not bargaining chips and that they will be released when the field conditions permit."
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