Gaza, Apr 5: Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, said that half of the living Israeli hostages are in areas that Israel has issued evacuation orders recently.

In a press statement, Abu Obeida, spokesperson for the al-Qassam Brigade, said the armed wing decided not to relocate the hostages from these areas but to keep them under strict security measures, warning that their lives are at risk, Xinhua news agency reported. "If Israel is concerned about the lives of these hostages, it must immediately engage in serious negotiations to secure their evacuation or release," Obeida said, adding that "time is running out."

He also stated that the Israeli government bears full responsibility for the hostages' fate. Had Israel adhered to the ceasefire agreement signed in January, most of the hostages "would be in their homes today rather than facing danger," he said.

Israel ended a two-month ceasefire with Hamas on March 18 and resumed deadly air and ground assaults on the Palestinian enclave. On Thursday, Israeli Defense Forces spokesman Effie Defrin said the army had entered "a new stage" in its offensive in Gaza.

The renewed Israeli attacks have so far killed at least 1,249 Palestinians and injured 3,022 others, Gaza health authorities said Friday. Meanwhile, a UN report said Friday that since March 18, the Israeli military has issued 13 displacement orders, putting some 126.6 square km, or 35 per cent of the Gaza Strip, under active displacement orders.

Over 280,000 people have been displaced in the past two weeks, it said.

(IANS)

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