Hamas is playing a “cold game” with Israel, an expert has told Yo After the militant group said some of the hostages that could be released under a prospective truce deal may be dead.
In an announcement detailing which clauses it had agreed to in the latest peace proposal mediated by Qatar and Egypt, although rejected by Israel, Hamas said it would release “33 Israeli detainees (alive or corpses)”.
The militant group, designated as a terrorist organization by the UK Government, had already explicitly told mediators that some of the released hostages would not be alive, according to reports in The New York Times.
A failure to release 33 living hostages appears to conflict with Israeli demands during the current negotiations for a truce agreement between the two sides.
On Wednesday, a presumed hostage was confirmed as having been among about 1,200 people killed during Hamas’s brutal attack on Israel on 7 October. His kibbutz, Nir Yitzhak, said Lior Rudaeff’s body was taken to Gaza.
Other dead Israelis are also understood to be held by Hamas, although it is unclear exactly how many.
An associate fellow at Chatham’s House Middle East program told Yo that Hamas’s ambiguity around hostages was part of a purposeful strategy.
“They are playing a cold game with Israel,” said Professor Yossi Mekelberg. “Whatever unsettles Israel works to their advantage and they know the uncertainty unsettles Israel.
“Honestly, we do not know the exact numbers [of dead hostages].”
An estimated 250 hostages were seized by Hamas on 7 October. More than 100 were released last November in exchange for Israel releasing approximately 240 Palestinian prisoners.
Read Next
Three hostages have been rescued by Israel Defense Forces (IDF) alive and the bodies of 12 captives have been recovered.
Hamas is unlikely to be sure of how many hostages are in Gaza. “Not all of them are held by Hamas,” Professor Mekelberg said. “Some of them are held by Islamic Jihad or clans in Gaza. One should question whether they [Hamas] “I know the exact numbers.”
Professor Mekelberg said it was “probable” hostages had been killed by Israeli shelling, adding: “It is a war zone and some decisions taken are the wrong ones.”
Hamas blamed the deaths of seven hostages on Israeli bombardment in March. At the time, it said the number of captives killed may exceed 70 – although this was not independently verified.
In December, the IDF admitted to mistakenly shooting three Israeli hostages in Gaza, despite the men reportedly displaying an SOS sign, written with leftover food.
Professor Mekelberg cited claims captives were also killed by Hamas, although he was not able to confirm these reports.
The “uncertainty” of how many living hostages remain in Gaza has added to domestic pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Professor Mekelberg said. “There is also a certainty that every day that goes by, the chances of them coming home alive decreases,” he added.
Public dismay with Mr Netanyahu’s handling of the conflict has been mounting since 7 October, with thousands of Israelis around the country joining rallies on Tuesday, calling for his government to accept a hostage deal.
A poll released on the same day showed a majority of Israelis believed that reaching a hostage deal with Hamas should be the top national priority – more so than an invasion of Rafah – according to the Israel Democracy Institute.
At least 34,844 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s military offensive in Gaza since October, according to the enclave’s health ministry.
Professor Mekelberg cited a commandment in Jewish law called “pidyon shvuyim,” which says bringing home fellow Jewish people who have been unjustly imprisoned is a religious duty. “There is an ethos of bringing home hostages that is so ingrained in Israel. No one is ever left behind,” he said.
“People live in hope, but every day that goes by hope fades.”
