Israeli Hostage in Gaza Attempts Suicide Due to Psychological Condition

Gaza, MINA – An Israeli hostage held in Gaza has attempted suicide, a spokesman for Islamic Jihad’s armed wing said in a video posted on Telegram, Middle East Monitor reported.

One of the group’s medical teams intervened and prevented him from dying, the Al-Quds Brigades spokesman added, without elaborating on the hostage’s identity or current condition.

Israeli authorities did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Islamic Jihad spokesman Abu Hamza said the hostage had attempted suicide three days ago due to his psychological condition, without elaborating.

Abu Hamza accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government of setting new conditions that led to the “failure and delay” of negotiations on the release of the hostages.

The man had been scheduled to be released along with the other hostages under the terms of the first phase of the swap deal with Israel, Abu Hamza said.

Efforts by Arab mediators, backed by the United States, have so far failed to reach a ceasefire in Gaza, based on a possible deal that would also release Israeli hostages in exchange for the freedom of Palestinians in Israeli prisons.

The armed wing of Islamic Jihad has issued a decree to tighten security and safety measures for the hostages, Abu Hamza added.

Hamas has repeatedly stressed, over the past months, its readiness to reach a prisoner exchange and ceasefire deal, and even announced its approval of a proposal put forward by US President Joe Biden.

However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu withdrew the proposal, putting forward new conditions, most notably the continuation of the genocidal war and saying Tel Aviv would not withdraw from Gaza. (T/RE1/P2)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)