Hamas Says Hostage Guards Have Been Operating Under New Orders

Hamas’ armed wing said on Monday that the militant group has been operating under new orders since June should Israeli soldiers approach their locations in Gaza. The announcement came just two days after the Israel Defense Forces recovered the bodies of six hostages killed in Gaza this weekend.

The bodies were found in a tunnel underneath the Gazan city of Rafah. The hostages appeared to have been killed between Thursday evening and Friday morning, just hours before the Israeli military reached them, according to Israel’s National Institute of Forensic Medicine. Their autopsies indicated that they had all been shot at close ranges, apparently by execution.

Read More: Scenes From Israel, Where Protesters Blame Netanyahu for the Deaths of Hostages

Abu Ubaida, a spokesperson for Hamas’ Al-Qassem Brigade’, said that the new instructions came into place after Israel conducted a rescue operation in June that freed four hostages but resulted in the deaths of dozens of Palestinians, including women and children.

Abu Ubaida did not offer details on what the new instructions were and said Hamas holds Israel responsible for the latest hostage deaths.

“Netanyahu's insistence to free prisoners through military pressure, instead of sealing a deal, means they will be returned to their families in shrouds. Their families must choose whether they want them dead or alive,” he said.

A group representing families of the hostages demanded that Netanyahu “address the nation and take responsibility.”

Read More: The Families of Israelis Held Hostage by Hamas Speak Out

At a press conference on Monday, Netanyahu said the hostages had been shot in the back of the head and that he asked their families for forgiveness. “I’m asking for your forgiveness that we didn’t manage to bring them back alive,” he said. “Hamas will pay a very heavy price for that.”

Within Israel, uproar emerged following the news that six more hostages were killed in Gaza. About half a million Israelis took to the streets across the country on Sunday to express their outrage and grief and to demand a hostage release deal.