Hamas does not have the foggiest idea how many of the Israeli hostages who remain prisoners in the Strip are still alive. Indeed, “no one has any idea.” He said this in an interview with CNN Osama Hamdan, senior leader and spokesperson of the Islamist movement. After the release of four young people kidnapped from the Re’im rave over seven months ago, it is estimated that around 120 hostages remain in the Strip. A few dozen have probably died in the meantime, according to Israeli intelligence assessments. Hamas does not confirm or deny this reconstruction, therefore, rather it admits its lack of knowledge of the details: just like the four freed in last Saturday’s blitz, in fact, many hostages since 7 October have been “entrusted” to more or less Palestinian families linked to the movement, while it cannot be ruled out that others were exchanged between groups or gangs in Gaza as high-value “goods”. However, the factor is not irrelevant in the context of negotiations for a possible ceasefire – since Israel wants clear guarantees on how many and which hostages will be freed at each stage of the path traced by the US.
Hamas’ demands
Hamas, on the other hand, maintains uncertainty about the fate of the possible agreement at this stage. The path indicated by Joe Biden for the past two weeks has been evaluated positively, Hamdan reiterated from Beirut, yet Hamas demands clarification on some details of the plan. Which ones, she urges him CNN? Essentially, «a clear acceptance by Israel of a ceasefire, of a complete withdrawal from Gaza, of letting the Palestinians determine their own future and rebuilding, of lifting the siege… and then we are ready to talk about an honest agreement for the exchange of prisoners.” Translated: Hamas seems to be raising the stakes once again, including in the package requested from international mediators a de facto “safe conduct” that allows it to remain in government of the Strip after the end of the war, starting from scratch. An eventuality that Israel notoriously considers inadmissible, as does the US itself and most European countries. It is no coincidence that Secretary of State Antony Blinken let all his frustration with Hamas’ stubbornness filter through a few hours earlier. The fundamentalist movement, Blinken said from Doha, has sent the request to make “numerous changes” to the draft agreement, some of which go “beyond the positions it had held previously”.
Theory of a (double) massacre
In short, the suspicion is that Hamas wants to blow up the situation for the umpteenth time. In fact prolonging sine die hostilities. On the other hand, the leader of the terrorists in the Strip, Yahya Sinwar, would maintain in his exchanges with his interlocutors that the tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians who have died since October 7 are “a necessary sacrifice” to support the “heroic resistance” of Hamas against Israel , which can continue for a long time. Reconstruction denied to CNN by Hamdan, who however confirms the “theoretical” line in practice: the pogrom of 7 October – 1,200 Israelis killed in cold blood, hundreds kidnapped – was a “reaction to the occupation” of the Jewish State. As for everything that has happened since then, what can I say? «Whoever is responsible for this is the occupation. If you resist it, they kill you, if you don’t resist, they kill you anyway or deport you from your land. So what should we do, sit there and wait?”. The war in Gaza promises to continue, to the detriment of all diplomatic attempts.
