According to a member of a Hamas group visiting Moscow, the hostages captured from Israel during a surprise attack cannot be released until both sides agree to stop fighting, as reported by local media.
The Russian newspaper Kommersant reported that Abu Hamid said Hamas needed more time to find all the people who had been taken.
“They took many people, mostly regular people, and we need to take time to locate them in Gaza and then let them go,” Hamid said.
Hamas has let go of four hostages until now, citing reasons of humanity. Judith and Natalie Raanan, a mother and daughter, were the first to be released on 20 October. Yocheved Lifschitz, who is 85 years old, and Nurit Cooper, who is 79 years old, were released on Monday.