The Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terror group threatened the lives of the Israeli hostages it is holding, saying they would be killed unless Israel stopped its military activities in Gaza Strip before the ceasefire is slated to come into effect at 8:30 a.m. today.

PIJ attacked southern Israel alongside Hamas and other, smaller terror organizations on October 7th, taking a significant number of hostages.

“The people of the enemy prisoners must demand that the Zionist army stop the bombardment of the last hours, which is the reason for the killing of your children while the resistance is making the final field arrangements for their release,” PIJ spokesman Abu Hamza said in a statement released on social media platform Telegram.

“The intensity of the Zionist bombardment leads us towards two paths, the first of which is that the families of the Zionist prisoners receive their children in coffins or [safely] in their homes, and the choice of the last hours is in the hands of the Zionist army alone,” the statement concluded.

While the text appeared to blame the potential deaths of hostages on IAF bombing, Hamas has murdered numerous captives, then blamed their deaths on the Israeli military.

Bodies of some hostages – whom Hamas claimed were killed in airstrikes – were found to have been shot at point-blank range.

Dozens of high-profile PIJ terrorists are expected to be released from Israeli prisons during the first phase of the ceasefire.

Thabet Mardawi, a senior PIJ member convicted for his role in deadly terror attacks during the Second Intifada that killed 21 Israelis and wounded some 200, will be set free.

High-profile attacks planned by Mardawi include a bus bombing near Jerusalem, shooting attack at Hadera’s outdoor market, and a suicide bombing at Kibbutz Shluhot.

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