Hamas: Israel will not receive another hostage after IDF invasion of Gaza City

Author: Published: September 19, 2025

Additionally, senior Hamas official Bassem Naim warned that any further IDF operations in Gaza would result in harm to the hostages.

HAMAS TERRORISTS keep guard on the day Hamas handed over deceased hostages, in Khan Yunis, Feb. 20, 2025.
HAMAS TERRORISTS keep guard on the day Hamas handed over deceased hostages, in Khan Yunis, Feb. 20, 2025.
(photo credit: REUTERS)
ByLIRAN HARONI
Updated: 
Hamas said that the IDF’s invasion of Gaza City means that Israel will not receive any hostages, dead or alive, in a Thursday statement.

“Your prisoners are distributed within the neighborhoods of Gaza City, and we will not be concerned for their lives as long as Netanyahu has decided to kill them,” a statement from the al-Qassam Brigades said, as reported by CNN.

“The commencement of this criminal operation and its expansion means that you will not receive any prisoner, neither alive nor dead, and their fate will be the same as that of (Ron Arad).”

The al-Qassam Brigades statement referred to Israeli Air Force officer Ron Arad, who was kidnapped in Lebanon in 1986.

Hamas official Bassem Naim attends a news conference in Beirut, Lebanon November 8, 2023. (credit: REUTERS/MOHAMED AZAKIR)
Hamas official Bassem Naim attends a news conference in Beirut, Lebanon November 8, 2023. (credit: REUTERS/MOHAMED AZAKIR)

Despite attempts to secure his release, Arad remained in Lebanese captivity, and apart from little documented evidence, Israel declared in 2016 that he died in captivity in 1988.

Earlier on Thursday, Bassem Naim, a senior official in Hamas’s political bureau who was targeted in the Israeli strike in Doha, appeared on Qatari television for the first time since the attack.

Naim warned that any continued Israeli ground offensive in Gaza City would be met with intense resistance in an interview with Al Araby.

“The operation in Gaza City will be met with fierce resistance,” he said. “The death and destruction the enemy is trying to bring to Gaza’s streets will also come upon its soldiers.

“Whoever harms our people during the operation in Gaza City will also harm its captives, both the living and the dead.”

Naim also accused Israel of using negotiations as a cover for its military actions.

“Israel deceived everyone, pretending to engage in negotiations to mask its crimes,” he added.

Israel tells families it lacks precise Gaza hostage locations 

Israeli security officials have privately informed the families of hostages that they do not have specific information on the hostages’ current locations, according to a report published by N12 on Wednesday evening.

This admission contrasts with recent public assurances from both political and military leaders, who have emphasized that the military campaign in Gaza is being conducted carefully in areas thought to contain hostages. Families who took part in the private meeting said they were told a different and far more uncertain picture.

According to N12, a senior defense official stated during the meeting that the army cannot confirm where the hostages are.

IDF intercepts Houthi missile along with two drones

Author: Published: September 19, 2025

IDF identified the launch of a missile from Yemen, with alerts expected to sound in the coming minutes, the military said.

Footage released by Houthi Military Media says to show a launch of missile, which the Houthis say they fired at Israel, at an unknown location in this screen grab obtained from a handout video released on December 19, 2024.
Footage released by Houthi Military Media says to show a launch of missile, which the Houthis say they fired at Israel, at an unknown location in this screen grab obtained from a handout video released on December 19, 2024.
(photo credit: HOUTHI MILITARY MEDIA/via REUTERS)
ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
Updated: 
The IDF intercepted a Houthi missile launched from Yemen on Thursday, with sirens triggered across central Israel.

No casualties or injuries were reported after the sirens sounded. Magen David Adom responded to cases of panic attacks and injuries sustained by people rushing to the shelters.

The Israel Air Force also intercepted two unmanned drones launched from Yemen on Thursday evening, according to an IDF Spokesperson’s statement.

“Earlier this evening, the Air Force intercepted another drone that had been launched from Yemen in recent hours,” the statement said, adding that no alerts were activated during the incident.

The IDF confirmed that it is investigating the crash site of one of the drones in the Eilat area earlier Thursday evening.

This is the third attack from Yemen in the past day. A Houthi drone crashed into an Eilat hotel earlier, and the IDF intercepted a second drone from the Houthis shortly after.

IDF intercepts Houthi missile two days earlier 

On Tuesday, the IDF intercepted a Houthi missile after alarms were triggered across central Israel. 

The attack came after a series of strikes on Hodeidah Port, with Houthi-linked media stating that at least 12 strikes were recorded.

The IDF said that the attack aims to enforce a maritime blockade on the Houthis and prevent the smuggling of weapons to the terror organization.

See more on

Senior Hamas official: Now is not the time to negotiate end of war

Author: Published: September 19, 2025

Senior Hamas official Basem Naim claimed in an interview with Qatar’s Al-Arabi channel that now is not the time to initiate negotiations to end the war in Gaza and that currently “there are no contacts with the Hamas leadership.”

According to Naim, “Israel’s policy of threatening continued fighting and ongoing targeted killings disrupts any possibility for talks and agreements.”

Newer Posts Older Posts