Yet another shocking video, yet another blackmail that materializes: if you don’t listen to us, the hostages will continue to die. Thus Hamas uses the kidnapped people as a propaganda tool and a weapon of persuasion, releasing a new video showing an Israeli hostage, Nadav Popplewell, 52 years old, and then announcing shortly after that the man was killed due to an Israeli bombing on Strip. Another macabre episode of a conflict that seems to know no end, despite the fact that negotiations are continuing under the radar which, at least so far, have always failed in sight of the finish line.
The video, about 10 seconds long, lasts just long enough for the hostage to reveal his identity and say that «time is running out. Your government is lying.” The man, who also has a British passport, has a black eye but no other visible injuries. Popplewell, kidnapped on October 7, is diabetic and her sister. In an interview with the Daily Mail, she said she was worried about her health during her captivity. The man’s mother, kidnapped with him, was released last November 24 following a prisoner exchange. Shortly after, the al Qassam brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, announced that the Israeli hostage had died from wounds sustained in an air attack carried out by Israel more than a month ago in the Gaza Strip. The purpose of the video is however clear: to arouse further apprehension in the families of the kidnapped and push Israel to negotiate in a position of weakness. It is the third video released in less than a month by the terrorist group that showed three hostages still alive.
An explosive situation, that of the hostages still in the hands of Hamas. Last night in Tel Aviv there was yet another protest by the families of the hostages who are asking Netanyahu and his government for an agreement for their release. The demonstration comes on the eve of the National Day of the Fallen which is celebrated in Israel. The slogan chosen by the family members is “Bring home the living and the dead”, given that Hamas is currently also holding the bodies of the dead hostages in the Strip.
Meanwhile, albeit slowly, negotiations continue and according to some sources they have not completely collapsed. An agreement would still be possible as long as Hamas “provides answers that can be worked on.” Diplomacy is working to resume talks in Doha, Qatar, indirect talks and reach a truce and an agreement on the hostages. The Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani has invited the head of Egyptian intelligence Abbas Kamel and the director of the CIA William Burns to Doha but it is not yet clear on what basis negotiations will be able to resume. Hamas continues with blackmail, Israel continues with its line of intransigence.
Margins are getting smaller and smaller.
