Hamas pressures Israel by creating mystery surrounding the fate of hostages
Abu Ubayda says the fate of many Israeli hostages in Gaza is unknown, blaming the political and military leadership of the Israeli state for the responsibility due to the continued airstrikes
The military wing of Hamas, the Al-Qassam Brigades, sent a message on Sunday evening to the families of Israeli prisoners held by the movement, stating, “Wait for us… tomorrow we will inform you of their fate; your government is lying.” Meanwhile, the spokesperson for the Brigades, Abu Ubayda, affirmed that the fate of several hostages has become unknown due to Israeli airstrikes.
Al-Qassam also released a video clip of some prisoners sending messages to the Israeli government, demanding the cessation of war and their return to their families. At the end of the attached video posted on their Telegram account, they wrote: “Wait for us… tomorrow we will inform you of their fate.
Your government is lying.” Abu Ubayda stated on Sunday that the fate of many Israeli hostages in Gaza is unknown, adding, “The fate of many prisoners and captives of the enemy has become unknown in recent weeks… and the leadership of the enemy and its army bear full responsibility for this file.”
Israeli officials generally refrain from responding to Hamas‘s public messages about hostages, describing them as psychological warfare. On December 31, Hajar Mazrahi, the official in charge of forensic medicine at the Israeli Ministry of Health, stated on local television that the autopsy of the bodies recovered for slain hostages found that the causes of death contradicted Hamas‘s narrative of them being killed in airstrikes. However,
Israel also clarified that it is aware of the risks faced by hostages as a result of its attacks and takes necessary precautions, especially after the killing of three hostages by Israeli soldiers in Shuja’iyya, northern Gaza. He added, saying, “Any talk other than stopping the aggression against our people has no value,” emphasizing that Hamas‘s attack on October 7th on Israeli towns came “to make the occupier pay the price for its occupation and its gangs committing massacres over 100 years against our people and nation, occupying the first Qibla of Muslims and seeking to annihilate our people and liquidate its existence.” Israel claims that Hamas‘s attack led to the death of more than 1200 people, the largest loss since its establishment in 1948, in addition to the detention of 240 hostages taken to Gaza.
Abu Ubayda said that the Al-Qassam fighters withdrew “from service over 100 days with the help of Allah and His support towards about 1000 Zionist military vehicles that penetrated the Gaza Strip in its north, center, and south.” He hinted at the possibility of expanding the scope of attacks, saying that the movement was informed “by various parties on the fronts of the resistance that they will expand their strikes against the enemy in the coming days.”
The file of Israeli hostages is vital for the Israeli state, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu‘s government is under great pressure to settle it, either through intensifying military action or through a new agreement for a prisoner exchange.
Qatar and Egypt play significant roles in reaching a deal, while Hamas insists that there is no retreat from a comprehensive war stoppage and the withdrawal of the Israeli army for the release of hostages, which Israel rejects.
