CAIRO, January 9. /TASS/. Hostages being held by radical groups in the Gaza Strip could be handed over only after all Palestinians are released from Israeli prisons, head of the Hamas Politburo Ismail Haniyeh said.

"The only way for the Israeli hostages to leave the Gaza Strip alive is through liberation of all [Palestinian] detainees held in the prisons of [Israeli] occupational authorities," Haniyeh said, according to the Hamas Telegram channel.

According to Haniyeh, Israel has been unable to achieve any of its goals during the military operation in Gaza.

"The stated goals of the war in Gaza - the elimination of Hamas, the forceful displacement of the [Palestinian] population from the strip and the return of hostages - have not been achieved, despite the mass murder and destruction," Haniyeh believes.

He also warned that the Israeli actions in the West Bank are "wide-scale and pose serious threat."

The situation in the Middle East sharply escalated following an incursion of Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip into Israel on October 7. Hamas has cast the attack as a response to Israeli actions against the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Israel has declared a complete siege of the Gaza Strip and started a military operation there. Israel also strikes parts of Lebanon and Syria in retaliation for bombardments originating from these countries. Clashes are also taking place in the West Bank.