Hamas: Israel tortures Palestinian abductees while we treat captives humanely

The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas says it treats Israeli captives “humanely”, while forces of the occupying regime kill and torture Palestinian prisoners in violation of international law.

Marking Palestinian Prisoner Day which falls on April 17 every year, Hamas stressed in a statement on Thursday that liberating Palestinian prisoners from Israel’s numerous prisons and detention centers “will remain” the resistance’s “top national priority.”

“The occupation's crimes against our prisoners will not go unpunished and will not become time-barred,” it emphasized.

Since the outbreak of Israel’s genocidal war on the besieged Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, dozens of Palestinian prisoners have lost their lives in Israeli jails, according to Palestinian institutions.

Israel keeps Palestinian inmates under deplorable conditions without proper hygienic standards, as they have also been subject to systematic torture, harassment, and repression.

“The occupation bears full responsibility for the lives of the thousands of detainees and abductees from Gaza. We strongly condemn the international community’s silence regarding the systematic torture and inhumane treatment inflicted upon our detainees in Zionist prisons,” Hamas stressed.

Top official: Hamas agrees to free all Israeli captives for ‘serious prisoner swap’

A senior Hamas official says the resistance group is willing to free all remaining Israeli captives in return for what he described as a “serious prisoner swap” and a guaranteed end to the genocidal war.

Hamas took about 250 people captive during its unprecedented operation against the occupied territories on October 7, 2023. The Gaza-based resistance movement is currently engaged in negotiations on another prisoner swap in Cairo with Egyptian and Qatari mediators, as it still keeps 59 Israeli captives in the territory.

Elsewhere in its statement on Thursday, Hamas stressed that it treated the Israeli captives well, unlike the occupying entity that has been killing and torturing Palestinian prisoners.

“We have treated the enemy's prisoners humanely, while the fascist occupation [regime] continues to practice the most heinous forms of torture, deliberate killing, and abuses against our prisoners, in blatant violation of international humanitarian law and all international norms and conventions,” Hamas emphasized.

The resistance movement also urged “human rights groups to expose the occupation’s crimes against Palestinian prisoners, and to work towards prosecuting the perpetrators before international courts.”

Hamas also urged all Palestinian factions and groups to join forces to safeguard, defend, and free Palestinian prisoners using any means required, while ensuring their families receive proper care and support.

“Let April 17 be a global day of solidarity with Palestinian prisoners and an opportunity to expose the occupation's crimes against them,” the resistance movement stressed.

In January, the Israeli regime was forced to agree to a ceasefire deal with Hamas, given the regime’s failure to achieve any of its objectives, including the “elimination” of the Palestinian resistance movement or the release of captives.

On March 18, Israel unilaterally broke the truce and resumed its relentless bombing of Gaza.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk