Hamas admits to killing hostages, releases video of slain hostage Eden Yerushalmi

The spokesperson for Hamas' armed al-Qassam Brigades, Abu Obaida, said on Monday that the Palestinian group had issued new instructions to guards on handling hostages if Israeli troops approach hostage-holding sites, reiterating blame on Israel for the deaths of hostages.

"Netanyahu and the occupation army alone bear full responsibility for the deaths of the prisoners. They deliberately obstructed any prisoner exchange deal for their own narrow interests, and furthermore, intentionally killed dozens of prisoners through direct airstrikes," Abu Obaida said in a message on Telegram.

"Let it be clear to everyone that, following the incident in Nuseirat, new instructions have been issued to the Mujahideen tasked with guarding the prisoners. These instructions outline how to handle the situation if the occupation army approaches the location where the prisoners are being held," he added.

After the announcement, Hamas published a video which began with the similar message and then continued to a recorded message of slain hostage Eden Yerushalmi before her death. In the video, she gave a message directed at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum has cleared the video for public viewing.

"Our Eden, we love you too and we miss you like crazy. You are forever in our hearts," the family wrote.

Rescued, escaped, died

The Nuseirat incident refers to Operation Arnon, in which four hostages were rescued from the Nuseirat refugee camp in Gaza, which led to the deaths of at least 100 people, according to IDF estimates, and nearly 300, according to Hamas estimates. The operation also led to the death of Arnon Zamora, for whom the operation was posthumously renamed.

The rescued hostages were Noa Argamani, 26; Andrey Kozlov, 27; Almog Meir Jan, 21; and Shlomi Ziv, 40. 

The announcement came a day after the IDF recovered the bodies of six slain Israeli hostages from Gaza: Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Eden Yerushalmi, Carmel Gat, Almog Sarusi, Alexander Lobanov, and Ori Danino.

All six had been killed by Hamas at least a day before their rescue, having been found dead in the tunnels under Gaza.

Their deaths came only a few days after Bedouin-Israeli hostage Qaid Farhan Alkadi escaped from Hamas captivity and made contact with IDF troops in the area.