By dpa

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The Palestinian militant group Hamas on Thursday said it has distributed Israeli hostages across several districts of Gaza City.
The organisation’s military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, said the Israeli offensive in the city will ensure that none of the hostages return to Israel.
Hamas will have no regard for the lives of the abductees “as long as [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu decides to kill them”, the group added.
It also threatened Israel’s military, saying it has “prepared thousands of ambushes and explosive devices”.
“Gaza will be a graveyard for your soldiers,” the military wing said.
Israel launched a highly controversial ground offensive in Gaza City early on Tuesday.
According to the government, the aim is to destroy the Islamist Hamas and secure the release of the remaining hostages.
However, relatives of the hostages accuse Netanyahu of sacrificing the hostages with the ground offensive in Gaza City.
They fear for the lives of the abductees and that Hamas could misuse them as human shields.

Israeli media have reported in recent days that Hamas has taken the hostages out of tunnels and placed them in houses and tents to prevent the Israeli army from operating in certain areas.
Some 48 hostages are still being held in Gaza, and according to Israeli reports, 20 of them are still alive.
At least 48 people were killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza, Palestinian sources reported on Thursday.
Hospital reports indicated that 38 of the fatalities took place in Gaza City.
The Israeli military reported that four soldiers were killed by an explosive device in the southern part of the territory.
An Israel Defence Forces spokesman said roughly 450,000 Palestinians have fled Gaza City, which previously had a population of around 1 million.
Meanwhile, New York Mayor Eric Adams said on Thursday he plans to meet Netanyahu next week, and slammed mayoral front runner Zohran Mamdani’s campaign promise to arrest him.
The meeting, during next week’s United Nations General Assembly in New York, underscores the difference between Adams and Democratic nominee Mamdani, who continues to say that as mayor he would direct the New York Police Department to arrest Netanyahu on an international warrant.

Adams, who is pursuing a bid for re-election, has long been a strong supporter of Israel.
While Israel is a strong ally of the United States, Netanyahu has drawn international ire for Israel’s continuing military campaign in Gaza.
“There’s several heads of states I’m going to meet with,” Adams said at a press conference on Thursday.
“I’m looking forward to meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu when he arrives in the city as well. He will be welcomed like our other dignitaries.”
The two men previously met in 2023, when the mayor travelled to Israel. Netanyahu is also reportedly scheduled to meet US President Donald Trump next week.
Mamdani, who has been sharply critical of Israel and has come under fire for refusing to condemn the phrase “globalise the intifada”, has pledged that were Netanyahu to come to New York when he was mayor, he would honour a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for the leader’s arrest. A UN commission this week called Israel’s campaign in Gaza “genocide”.
The US does not recognise the authority of the ICC.
“You have a right to come here and voice the positions from your country,” Adams said of his opponent’s plan on Thursday.
“And we respect the rule of law here. We don’t react in a reckless manner [by] stating that we’re going to arrest a dignitary that’s here.”
Former New York governor Andrew Cuomo, also running as an independent, is a strong supporter of Israel but has said in recent days that he believes the war in Gaza should end.
Kayla Mamelak, the mayor’s press secretary, declined to share when the Netanyahu meeting is or which other leaders Adams plans to meet, saying his daily public schedule will reflect the meetings next week.
Additional reporting by Tribune News Service