Hamas claims Israel declined to receive two hostages it intended to release
210 hostages remain in Gaza after being kidnapped from Israeli territory on October 7.
A spokesman for the armed wing of Hamas said on Saturday the group intended to release two more hostages for "humanitarian reason,s" but that Israel had declined to receive them.
Abu Ubaida, the spokesman for the Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades, said in a brief statement that it informed Qatar on Friday of Hamas' intention to release the two people.
However, the Israeli government saw the effort as less of an olive branch and more as psychological warfare, with more than 200 hostages still remaining.
Terrorist propaganda, PM exclaims
A statement from the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu referred to the act as a method of propaganda.
"We will not refer to false propaganda by Hamas. We will continue to act in every way to return all the kidnapped and missing people home," Netanyahu said.
Saturday morning, an IDF spokesperson confirmed 210 hostages were still in Gaza after being kidnapped from Israeli territory and brought into the Gaza strip following the incident in southern Israel on October 7.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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