BICOM

Hamas publicly acknowledged for the first time that it is holding the bodies of two Israeli soldiers and has in custody two Israeli civilians who entered the Gaza Strip and have since been missing.

In a televised statement on Friday, Abu Obeida, a representative of Hamas’s military wing said that it is holding “four prisoners of war.” Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul, are thought to have been killed during Operation Protective Edge in 2014 and have been officially declared dead by Israeli authorities. However, Hamas has not until now officially admitted to holding their bodies. Meanwhile, 28-year-old Avera Mengistu, an Israeli of Ethiopian descent from Ashkelon, situated only a few miles from Gaza, crossed into the Gaza Strip in September. He is known to have suffered from psychological problems in the past. In addition, an unnamed Bedouin citizen from Hura in the south of Israel, is also missing in the Gaza Strip.

Hamas added that, “We guarantee that there is currently no exchange or discussions concerning prisoners,” adding that Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is “lying to his people” to suggest otherwise. However, the statement added that “Israel must pay to receive information before and after the negotiations” and must be willing “to pay a price” for progress to be made. Israeli soldiers have proven to be valuable bargaining chips for Hamas in the past. In 2011, around 1,000 Palestinian prisoners were released by Israel in exchange for the return of IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, who had been kidnapped by Hamas in 2006.

London-based al Araby al Jadeed reports that Egypt’s government has recently pressed Hamas on the condition of the missing Israelis. Hamas recently sent a high-level delegation to Cairo, to improve ties with Egypt, which has long kept the Rafah border crossing with Gaza closed and destroyed numerous smuggling tunnels beneath the border. Egypt says that Hamas is actively aiding Islamist terrorists in the Sinai Peninsula, who routinely attack Egyptian military and officials.