Hamas: The Israeli government is lying to its people

Ali Al-Amoudi, the head of the information department of the Hamas terrorist organization, says that the Israeli government continues to "sell illusions to the families of the prisoners of the occupation army" and does not provide any evidence regarding their situation.

In an interview with the Hamas television channel Al-Aqsa TV, which aired on Tuesday, Amoudi said that "the occupation government is lying to its public regarding the fate of the Zionist prisoners."

Amoudi stressed that obtaining freedom for the (security) prisoners is the responsibility of Hamas. "We have faith in the resistance, and the heroes of the shadow unit (which guards the missing Israelis) do not guard bodies," said Amoudi.

Hamas, he continued, has pledged to bring about the release of the prisoners, noting that "the prisoner lives on hope and certainty that the day of freedom will inevitably come."

IDF soldiers Shaul Oron and Hadar Goldin were declared dead by the IDF. Hamas officials are demanding that Israel release prisoners from the Shalit deal who were arrested a second time in exchange for information about their fate.

Hamas recently released a video purportedly showing Hisham al-Sayed, a Bedouin citizen of Israel, has been held by Hamas since he wandered into Gaza in 2015, in a hospital bed and hooked up to an oxygen machine.

The video was published a day after the military wing of Hamas issued an unusual statement on the condition of the Israeli citizens it holds captive, claiming that the medical condition of one them has deteriorated.

Hamas has also been holding another Israeli citizen, Avera Mengistu, since 2014. Both men suffer from mental illness.