Tel Aviv estimates that there are 59 Israeli prisoners in the Gaza Strip, 24 of whom are still alive. More than 9,500 Palestinians are languishing in its prisons, suffering torture, starvation, and medical neglect, many of whom have died, according to Palestinian and Israeli human rights and media reports.
Hamas leader in the occupied West Bank, Zaher Jabarin, said in a televised speech, "The enemy (Israel) will not succeed in uprooting our people from their land... We either live on our land with dignity or die as martyrs."
He added, "The genocide being perpetrated by the enemy will cost it sooner or later...and today it is paying the price with its political and moral standing in the world, if it even has any morals."
With American support, Israel has been committing genocide in Gaza since October 7, 2023, leaving more than 167,000 Palestinians dead and wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 11,000 missing.
Israel has been blockading Gaza for the 18th year, leaving approximately 1.5 million of its 2.4 million Palestinian citizens homeless after their homes were destroyed in the war of extermination. The Strip has entered a state of famine due to Tel Aviv's closure of the crossings to humanitarian aid.
Jabareen stressed that Hamas is "very keen to halt the aggression, end the war, and completely withdraw (the Israeli army) from Gaza." He added, "The irony is that Netanyahu is the one who refuses to release all prisoners, even through a comprehensive prisoner exchange deal that includes all prisoners."
Over the past week, more than 100,000 Israelis, including retired and reserve soldiers, have signed dozens of petitions demanding that Netanyahu and the military return the prisoners "all at once" from Gaza, even if only in exchange for a ceasefire.
Jabareen added: "By his decision to return to war and starvation, he (Netanyahu) is leaving his prisoners in Gaza to die of hunger, cold, disease, or as a result of the deliberate bombing by this criminal army to kill its prisoners."
In early March 2025, the first phase of a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement between Hamas and Israel concluded. The agreement, which went into effect on January 19, 2025, was brokered by Egypt and Qatar and supported by the United States, and the Palestinian movement adhered to it.
However, Netanyahu evaded initiating the second phase, lest he end the war and withdraw from Gaza. He resumed the genocide in the Strip on March 18, responding to the most extreme wing of his right-wing government, according to Hebrew media.
Since resuming its genocide in Gaza on March 18, Israel has killed 1,652 Palestinians and injured 4,391 others, most of them children and women, according to the Ministry of Health in the Strip on Wednesday morning.
Jabareen continued, "Netanyahu rejects their exodus all at once for personal political purposes and to remain in power."
Regarding the occupied West Bank, Jabareen said, "Today we face fateful challenges, with attempts to impose a decisive and annexation project on the West Bank, deprive our people of their land, and Judaize Al-Aqsa Mosque."
He called for "a comprehensive, clear, and serious struggle project that protects the West Bank and the national project, and prevents its annexation to the criminal, usurping entity."
Since the start of the genocide in Gaza, the Israeli occupation army and settlers have escalated their attacks in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, resulting in the deaths of more than 950 Palestinians, the injury of nearly 7,000 others, and the arrest of 16,400, according to official Palestinian data.
Denouncing settlements, which he called "displacement one of the most prominent tools of annexation," Jabareen said, "The sight of the gates has turned Palestinian cities and towns into small prisons controlled by the occupation army, while criminal settlers enjoy freedom of movement on our land."
He addressed the released prisoners, particularly those in the recent "Prisoner Flood" deal, saying that the prisoners, given their "leadership role in their resistance factions," carry the "resistance's responsibility."