Hostages in the Gaza Strip are “fighting for their lives” because they are suffering the same “suffering” as the population of the bombed Palestinian territory, the armed wing of Hamas said on Friday, AFP reported.

“Wounded and sick prisoners of the enemy are in a very difficult situation and are fighting for their lives, and this is not surprising, because everything that our people endures – whether it is hunger, or thirst, or lack of medicine – it is also endured by them. ” said Abu Obeida, a spokesman for the al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas.

“We always try by all possible means to keep enemy prisoners (in a safe place) and we have already warned dozens of times about the risks they are exposed to (…), but time is running out,” he added.

The statements came after the release earlier this week of two Israeli-Argentine hostages during an Israeli operation in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip that left “about a hundred dead” on the Palestinian side, according to the Hamas Health Ministry.

In recent days, Qatar and Egypt have led a new round of talks in Cairo with the aim of reaching a ceasefire agreement that would allow for a cessation of hostilities and the release of hostages kidnapped in Israel during an October 7 attack by Hamas and taken to Gaza.

An initial truce in late November led to the release of 105 hostages out of more than 240 kidnapped by Hamas. According to Israel, 130 hostages are still being held in Gaza, 30 of whom are believed to be dead.

Families of hostages still held in Gaza are calling on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to agree to a new ceasefire to allow the hostages to be released.

“The recent rescue operation was very successful and we will not hesitate to act to bring the hostages home,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on Friday.