GAZA, April 19 (Xinhua) -- The Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, said Saturday that a member of its team assigned to guard Israeli-U.S. hostage Edan Alexander was killed in an Israeli airstrike.

"The fate of Alexander and the rest of the guard unit remains unknown," Abu Obeida, spokesperson for the Al-Qassam Brigades, said in a statement.

"We are trying to protect all captives and preserve their lives despite the brutality of the aggression ... but their lives are in danger due to the criminal bombing operations carried out by the Israeli army," Obeida said.

Abu Obeida accused Israel of making "false claims" against Hamas "in an attempt to incite against the resistance and cover up the scandal of killing a number of its own prisoners and causing continued suffering for those who remain."

On Tuesday, Hamas said it had lost contact with the group that captured Alexander after an Israeli bombardment targeted their location.

Last week, Hamas expressed its readiness to immediately begin negotiations for a deal to swap all Israeli hostages with an agreed-upon number of Palestinian prisoners. However, the two sides remain divided on key issues, including Hamas' demand for a complete end to the war and Israel's insistence on Hamas' disarmament as a condition.

Since Israel ended a two-month ceasefire with Hamas and resumed deadly air and ground assaults on Gaza on March 18, 1,783 people have been killed and 4,683 others injured, Gaza health authorities said Saturday. Enditem

Related

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)