'Foreigners are our guests, will release them when conditions allow': Hamas claims to hold 250 people hostage in Gaza

The Hamas has held over 200 to 250 people, including foreigners, hostage in Gaza, the terror group’s spokesperson Abu Obeida said in a televised statement. Obeida noted that although there is no fixed number of people who have been held hostage due to “security and practical difficulties,” 200 of them have been confirmed to be in the hands of Hamas since 7 October. The spokesperson added that 50 other hostages have been held by other “resistance factions and in other places.” Obeida said that they will protect the foreign hostages under them as they are their “guests.” However, they will only be released whenever conditions “on the ground” allow for it. He further said that Israel’s ground operations in Gaza “do not scare us and we are ready for it.” Israel-Palestine War: Day 10 Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden confirmed that he will travel to Israel and Jordan on Wednesday to meet with both Israeli and Arab leadership, as concerns increase that the raging Israel-Hamas war could expand into a larger regional conflict. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced Biden’s travel to Israel as the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip grows more dire and as Israel prepares for a possible ground attack on the 141-square-mile (365-square-kilometer) territory to root out Hamas militants responsible for what US and Israeli officials say was the most lethal assault against Jews since the Holocaust. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin and made it clear that Israel would not stop until it had destroyed the military and governing capabilities of Hamas. With inputs from agencies