During an interview released on Thursday, NPR International Correspondent Daniel Estrin asked Luis Har, an Israeli taken hostage by Hamas during the October 7 terror attack, about claims by the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza that airstrikes that the Israeli military launched in conjunction with the special forces raid to rescue Har killed 70 Palestinian civilians.
Estrin said, [relevant remarks begin around 6:00] “During the rescue raid, the Israeli military said it carried out large-scale airstrikes as a diversion to provide cover to the special forces. Palestinian men, women, and children were killed, more than 70, according to Gaza health officials. I asked Luis Har about it.”
He then played a clip of translated remarks by Har where he said, “I don’t know. It’s not my business. The military can answer you. I see that most of the people there are Hamas. They don’t intend to pet us and to love us, and I have no mercy toward them at the moment.”
According to Estrin, Har also stated that there has to be a prisoner swap where Israel releases Palestinians convicted of killing Israelis in order to get hostages out. According to NPR’s translation, Har referred to this potential swap as “our people for their murderers.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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