CAIRO, September 3. /TASS/. Guards of Israeli hostages in Gaza have received special instructions in case soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces come close, said Abu Ubaida, spokesman for a Hamas military wing.

"We say this quite unambiguously: After what happened in Nuseirat, fighters guarding the captives received new instructions on how they should deal with the hostages in case the Israeli military approaches their place of detention," Abu Ubaida said in a statement on Telegram.

He was referring to the successful Israeli operation to free four hostages in Nuseirat in June.

"Continued attempts to free the captives through military pressure instead of a [Gaza ceasefire] agreement will only mean that the hostages will return to their families in coffins," the spokesman warned.

Abu Ubaida also accused Israel of allegedly "purposefully killing several dozen of their hostages in bombardments" of Gaza.

"Now let the families of the hostages decide whether they want to see their loved ones dead or alive," the spokesman said.

On August 31, the IDF discovered the bodies of six hostages in one of the underground tunnels in the Rafah area. The next day, the militants said the captives had been killed by Israeli bombardment, but the Jewish state's Health Ministry examined the bodies and concluded that the hostages had been shot dead by Hamas fighters at close range. According to the conclusions, the deaths are believed to have occurred 2-3 days before the bodies were examined.