Hamas said on Saturday it still held the largest number of hostages and could increase it, after Israeli forces rescued four hostages held by the Palestinian Islamist group in a raid in the central Gaza Strip.
The Hamas political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, said on Saturday that Israel cannot force its choices on Hamas and the group will accept no deal that does not achieve security for Palestinians.
Israeli forces have rescued four hostages alive from two separate locations in the central Gaza area of al-Nuseirat on Saturday, the military said.
Senior Hamas official, Sami Abu Zuhri, told Reuters after the announcement that “regaining four captives after nine months of fighting is a sign of failure not an achievement”.
US, France concern
France and the US will double their efforts to avoid the West Asia exploding, notably in Lebanon where there is urgency to reduce tensions between Israel and Hezbollah, President Emmanuel Macron said on Saturday.
Speaking alongside President Joe Biden during his state visit to France, Macron said that Paris and Washington also saw an escalation strategy by Iran in the region.
