CAIRO (Reuters) -Hamas has told mediators it will release a number of foreign captives in the coming days, Abu Ubaida, the spokesman of the group’s armed wing, al-Qassam Brigades, said in a video on its Telegram account on Tuesday.
The Brigades spokesman did not give more details on the number of captives or their nationalities.
He also said his group clashed with the Israeli army on three fronts and was able to “kill and injure a number of Israeli soldiers” as well as destroy 22 military vehicles. The unit’s navy also used an underwater missile called ‘Aasif’ for the first time in the conflict, Abu Ubaida said.
Reuters was not able to independently verify the claims.
The Israel Defence Forces said it was unaware of reports of the attacks by Hamas.
Abu Ubaida also denied that a hostage freed by Israel had been in Hamas’ hands, saying a number of captives were being held by other groups and individuals in the Gaza Strip.
The statement was an apparent reference to Ori Megidish, an Israeli soldier that the military said on Monday was freed in the Gaza Strip during a ground operation.
(Reporting By Moaz Abd-Alaziz, Omar Abdel-Razek and Muhammad Al Gebaly from Cairo; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Deepa Babington)
