Not Yet Willing To Discuss Hostage Exchange, Senior Hamas Official: We Will Discuss It After The Israeli Aggression Ends

Hamas illustration. (Wikimedia Commons/Hoheit (¿!))

JAKARTA - A senior official from the Palestinian militant Hamas said that they were not yet interested in discussing a hostage exchange while the Israeli attack was still continuing, denying that there was any outside assistance in planning last Saturday's attack.

Izzat al-Risheq told CNN it was too early to talk about a hostage exchange between Hamas and Israel.

"We will only discuss this issue after Israel's aggression against our people ends," said al-Risheq from Doha, Qatar, according to CNN, October 12.

Furthermore, al-Risheq also denied that Hamas received assistance from Iran or Lebanon's Hezbollah in planning or carrying out a large-scale surprise attack on Israel last weekend.

"I say very clearly, this operation is 100 percent a Hamas operation without the help of any regional party," stressed al-Risheq.

Previously, the Israeli Ambassador to the UN said that Hamas militants were holding as many as 150 people hostage in various locations in Gaza.

Meanwhile, Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus said that his party estimates that those held hostage by Hamas will be placed underground.

Meanwhile, World Catholic Church Leader Pope Francis called for the immediate release of the hostages, saying "terrorism and extremism do not help achieve a solution to the conflict between Israel and Palestine, but rather fuel hatred, violence, revenge and cause suffering for both sides".