Iran says Hamas will release Israeli hostages to end Gaza bombardment

Tehran, which has long supported the terrorist group, has attracted suspicion for allegedly helping to orchestrate the attack, the scope of which managed to catch the Israel Defense Forces flat-footed.

By Ben Whedon

Published: October 16, 2023 3:25pm

Iranian Foreign Minister Nasser Kanaani on Monday indicated that the Tehran-backed terror group Hamas was prepared to release hostages taken in a recent raid on Israeli territory in order to end the ongoing bombardment of the Gaza Strip.

Hamas, which governs the strip, seized 199 hostages in an Oct. 7 incursion into Israel that saw its forces storm border towns and inflict considerable civilian casualties. The attack drew international outcry and prompted Israeli counterstrikes on the densely-populated coastal region in preparation for a possible land invasion.

Kanaani appeared to suggest that Hamas was prepared to free the hostages but that the airstrikes had complicated the logistics of doing so, saying Hamas "stated that they are ready to take necessary measures to release the citizens and civilians held by resistant groups, but their point was that such measures require preparations that are impossible under daily bombardment by the Zionists against various parts of Gaza," according to the New York Post.

Hamas has not publicly offered a deal to release the hostages.

Iran, which has long supported the terrorist group, has attracted suspicion for allegedly helping to orchestrate the attack, the scope of which managed to catch the Israel Defense Forces flat-footed. Hamas has claimed sole responsibility.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter.