Hamas and their allies are fully responsible for safety of Israeli captives, and their threats to execute them will not stop the Israeli military, the foreign ministry’s spokesman, Walid Abu Haya, told Sputnik on Friday.
"We hold Hamas and [Islamic] Jihad responsible for the safety of the hostages in Gaza. We are now in a state of war, and we are striving to end it, and after that there will be talk about hostages, and the military operation will not stop because of this issue," the spokesman said.
The spokesman reiterated that Israel will not stop fighting until the Palestinian Hamas movement will not longer have any military potential.
"We will see the end of this war once Hamas loses its military potential," he said.
In recent years, Hamas has refused to accept the Middle East Qaurtet’s terms on settlement, including recognition of agreements between the Palestinians and Israel, preventing the organization from becoming a political party, Abu Haya added.
The spokesman also said that there is no difference between Hamas and the Daesh (Islamic State) terrorist group* as their goal is to "exterminate the Jewish people."
According to the official, Israel was not prepared for atrocities committed by the Hamas movement on October 7, but now the military is ready for any scenario.
"What happened on Saturday, October 7, 2023 was a surprise that we did not expect. Hamas surprised us with its brutality, and now the Israeli army is ready for all scenarios, and is fully prepared for any event or scenario,” the spokesman said, adding that a number of countries fully support Israel, including the United States.
He also noted that Israel is in constant coordination with Egypt and Jordan, and the military only targets the Hamas movement.
"Of course, there is constant coordination with the Egyptians and Jordanians, without going into details. Israel's only goal is to weaken and eliminate Hamas's military capabilities in order to prevent a repeat of the events we witnessed last Saturday," the spokesman said.
On October 7, the Palestinian group Hamas launched a large-scale surprise attack against Israel from the Gaza Strip. As a result, Israel declared a state of war the following day and launched retaliatory strikes.
On Monday, Israel enforced a complete blockade of the Gaza Strip, which is home to over 2 million people. This blockade cut off the supply of water, food, and fuel. Both Israel and Palestine have reported over 1,000 deaths and thousands of injuries due to the escalation.
*Daesh (also known as ISIS/ISIL/IS) is a terrorist group banned in Russia and many other countries