Hamas today claimed that ‘many’ Israeli hostages have died in four months of bloody warfare as the conflict in the southern Levant shows no signs of ending.

Abu Obeida, the spokesperson of the group’s armed wing, said in an audio message that the remaining hostages are living in extremely difficult conditions as Israeli forces continue devastating attacks on the Gaza Strip.

It comes as Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepares to push on with a ‘powerful’ operation in the southern city of Rafah to achieve ‘complete victory’ over Hamas.

Despite overtures to a peace deal in recent weeks, Netanyahu roundly rejected Hamas’ new terms for a ceasefire last week and today brushed off international pressure to help create an independent Palestinian state.

But concern mounts for the welfare of some 1.4mn Palestinians currently sheltering in Gaza’s southernmost city as Israeli troops prepare to sweep through the city ostensibly towards the objectives of routing Hamas and returning hostages taken into Gaza on October 7. 

The relentless conflict in Gaza has seen critics and the families of hostages from Israel turn out to pressure the Israeli government into agree terms for their release.

Masses of protestors demanded a ceasefire during the latest march in Tel Aviv on Thursday evening, pictured wielding signs that read ‘I’m still alive: S.O.S.’ and ‘Hostage deal now!’

Elsewhere, supporters lit flares and waved flags to draw attention to their calls for peace.

Roughly 130 hostages are still believed to be in Gaza after Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of about 1,160 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on figures shared by Israel.

While a minority of voters in Israel believe the IDF is using too much force in Gaza, the stories of dire conditions shared by Israeli hostages returning from captivity in the November ceasefire has given force to the movement.

Some returning said Israel’s siege had made conditions worse for hostages, suggesting food and water supplies were slashed by a siege of Gaza City in the first few days of the conflict.

One former hostage warned her husband had been taken to a tunnel just as the IDF began to explore the possibility of flooding them – a tactic still employed by Israeli forces wading through Gaza.

Hamas also last month said that multiple hostages had been killed in repeat Israeli bombing over the Gaza Strip, filming hostages before their deaths apparently under duress as they urged Israel to relent.

And the IDF has been accused of shooting dead three hostages in December, found waving a makeshift white flag and crying ‘help’ in Hebrew.

The deaths have exposed the difficulty in operating within dense urban environments, where Hamas have used asymmetrical tactics to undermine Israel’s attacks.

Still, Israel has maintained pressure. Yesterday, Israeli special forces stormed the main hospital in southern Gaza just hours after killing a patient and wounding six others inside the complex.

The army said it was a limited operation seeking the remains of hostages taken by Hamas, but did not immediately reveal who they were looking for. 

Four patients were later found to have died after their oxygen supply was cut off when Israeli troops stormed the hospital building, according to the doctors.

The military said it was operating on ‘credible evidence’ that Hamas had held hostages at the hospital – without sharing its source.

Al Jazeera reported that those in the hospital were given until 7am local time to evacuate before heavy tank and machine gun fire could be heard nearby.

The outlet reported that the hospital’s maternity ward, orthopaedics unit and emergency room were targeted by IDF soldiers, and that medical staff were rounded up and had ‘their hands tied behind their backs.’

Dr. Khaled Alserr, one of the remaining surgeons at Nasser Hospital, told the AP that the seven patients who were hit early on Thursday morning were already being treated for past wounds. 

On Wednesday, a doctor was lightly wounded when a drone opened fire on the upper stories of the hospital, he said. 

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