Hamas releases 'farewell picture' of Israeli hostages: Report

As per a reports, Qassam Brigades posted the picture with text that stated, 'Because of Netanyahu’s refusal, and Zamir’s capitulation, a farewell picture as the military operation in Gaza City begins.'

Hamas on Saturday released a photo of Israeli hostages while describing it as a "farewell picture". The picture showed 48 captives in Gaza, who were labelled as "Ron Arad", the Israeli Air Force navigator who was held hostage in 1986 in Lebanon. Each captive in the picture was labelled by a number too.

According to a report by Al Jazeera, Qassam Brigades posted the picture with a text that stated, "Because of (Prime Minister of Israel) Netanyahu’s refusal, and Zamir’s (Chief of the General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces) capitulation, a farewell picture as the military operation in Gaza City begins."

As per a report by CNN, a statement from al-Qassam Brigades said the "prisoners will be distributed in Gaza City neighbourhoods" and that their lives will not be of any concern to them, "as as long as Netanyahu has decided to kill them."

"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 statement further read, as reported by the publication.

A total of 48 of the hostages are said to remain in Gaza, and around 20 are thought to be alive, as per Reuters reports.

On Saturday, Israeli's military dismantled underground shafts in attacks that left 34 dead, according to Gazan health authorities.

This came as 10 countries including Australia, Belgium, Britain and Canada are scheduled to formally recognise an independent Palestinian state on Monday, ahead of the annual leaders' gathering at the UN General Assembly.

(Wit Reuters inputs)