The Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, threatened on Monday that it would henceforth execute hostages “if Israeli raids continue to target innocent civilians in their homes”.

A spokesman for Hamas’ armed wing, Abu Obaidah, said they were acting in accordance with Islamic guidelines, keeping Israeli prisoners safe and sound, Reuters reported. At the same time, he blamed Israel for escalating the bombing.

According to reports, Israel has suffered over 900 casualties while Palestine has lost 560 people.

Earlier on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent his own message, wanting to show that Tel Aviv’s response to Hamas will be tough, Posting videos of the airstrikes in the Gaza Strip, Netanyahu wrote in a post on X: “We have begun. Israel will win.”

התחלנו. ישראל תנצח ?? pic.twitter.com/tCwDLXkyaY

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— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) October 9, 2023

Meanwhile, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said in a statement issued earlier that “between Saturday and Monday morning, more than 1,200 targets were hit by Israeli aircraft across the Gaza Strip, including weapons storage and manufacturing sites, command and control centers, rocket launchers and others.”