Hamas says no more hostages will be released until further notice
The better to torture Israel and to pressure Israel to concede more.
In a post on X, Abu Obeida, spokesman for the Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ armed wing, said that the handover of the prisoners “who were scheduled to be released next Saturday … will be postponed until further notice, and until the occupation commits to and compensates for the entitlements of the past weeks retroactively.”
He added: “We affirm our commitment to the terms of the agreement as long as the occupation commits to them.”
Abu Obeida detailed various alleged violations of the agreement by Israel over the past three weeks, including “delaying the return of the displaced to the northern Gaza Strip, targeting them with shelling and gunfire in various areas of the Strip, and not allowing the entry of relief supplies in all their forms according to what was agreed upon.”
In response to Hamas’ announcement, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said he had instructed the country’s military to “prepare at the highest level of alert for any possible scenario in Gaza.”
The defense minister described Hamas’ postponement as a “complete violation of the ceasefire agreement and the deal to release the hostages.”
[Hat tip: Ace.]
My two cents:
Hamas senses vulnerability in Israel because many of the hostage families, alarmed at the condition of the last three hostages released, are demanding that Netanyahu give in to anything and everything in order to get their loved ones back. On the other hand, Hamas realizes that the debilitated state of the most recent hostages released doesn’t make Hamas look good – not that they’re all that concerned with looking good, but it’s possible there is something about the hostages’ obvious starvation that concerns even Hamas’ usual allies in the West.
In addition, Hamas may feel that, with Trump in charge in the US, they don’t want to release too many hostages and lose their best bargaining chips. Without the hostages, what have they got? Very little. Plus, in the next stages of the exchanges, many of the returned hostages are going to be deceased. That almost certainly includes the Bibas family, and Hamas is worried about backlash involving the bodies of those children. Better to not return them at all.
[ADDENDUM: New details about the most recent released hostages can be found here. For example, Levy was only allowed to shower every few months, and he was without shoes the entire time – his kindly captors gave him shoes for the handover, however. And this is unsurprising: “the hostages were given more food in recent days in an attempt to improve their health before their release.” Plan ahead, I always say – but they didn’t start feeding them more food early enough, because their starvation remained dramatically obvious.
In addition, one of the previously-released hostages is reported to have said that he or she was kept chained and could neither stand nor walk, and in fact had lost the ability to walk. However, “Only close to my release did the terrorists remove the chains, and I learned to walk again.”]
On the one hand — “Hostage Deal: Israel responds to Hamas ultimatum”: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/403715
And on the other hand — “PM Netanyahu: ‘Trump’s plan presents opportunities we haven’t even dreamed of’ “: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/403670
It’s a very short walk to the resumption of the war.
I will acknowledge occasionally reverting to tee-age boy mentality.
That teenager wishes Israel would begin executing the Palestinian prisoners with machine guns until hostages are released.
And, televise it.
Israel should parade their prisoners before the cameras and douse them with pigs blood, instantly rendering them unclean
and by Allah’s declaration in the ‘sacred’ Qur’an, now barred entrance to paradise. Then announce that until every Israeli is returned, they will remain imprisoned in an unclean state.
It would also be ‘instructive’ to announce a new policy that, from now on every captured jihadist will upon imprisonment be immediately rendered unclean and with pork the only meat served prisoners.
You gain leverage over a mortal enemy by attaching to the actions to be deterred consequences that for the enemy are intolerable. To do that, consequences must place at risk what the enemy values…
The man can frustrate and flummox me, but sometimes I just love him.
“If all the Gaza hostages aren’t returned by Saturday at 12 p.m., I would say cancel the ceasefire. Let all hell break loose; Israel can override it,” he said.
https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-841568
The only regret is that Israel didn’t cancel it first, based on the released hostages being paraded through crowds of Hamasniks. That the agreement would collapse was a foregone conclusion. This allows the MSM and UN types to blame Israel.
Mike Plaiss:
They might call Trump’s bluff. Then they kill all the hostages and blame Israel.
I don’t have a better solution than Trump’s, though. Once the hostages were taken, there was no good solution and really no acceptable solution.
My guess is that Trump is trying to pressure Iran with this threat, to get them to tell Hamas to cooperate, because Israel or the US might retaliate against Iran.
https://x.com/SpencerGuard/status/1889104982034596100
Video at link
“They might call Trump’s bluff. Then they kill all the hostages and blame Israel.”
That would greenlight Israel to take the gloves off.
fullmoon:
Yes. But then the hostages die. I don’t think most Israelis would approve. Netanyahu might not be willing to take the gloves off while there are still living hostages.
Mike Plaiss quotes Trump:
What can Trump do to Hamas? Several more buildings destroyed in Gaza, when Gaza is already a lunar wasteland? Hamas has nothing left to lose.
Like Neo says, Trump is bluffing. He might be able to kill some Hamas honchos hiding somewhere, with the assistance of Israeli intelligence.
A bluff.
I like Geoffrey Brittain’s idea of contaminating Muslim prisoners w pork products. Pershing did something similar in the Philipines a century ago. Unfortunately, pork is also forbidden for Jews, which would create a problem for the IDF applying a pork policy for Muslim prisoners.
This link from sdferr had mostly comments from people who want Gaza bombed to ruins and Hamas obliterated, but there was one interesting observation: “Hostages Families Headquarters, which doesn’t actually represent the hostages families, and only represents the typical leftist elitist, can be quiet and go away. No one wants to hear from them. Ben Gvir is exactly correct.”
In the mass of USAID revelations, there may be a connection that bears out his claims.
Does anyone here know the credentials for HFH?
In re Trump’s statement: IMO he is signaling that the US will not impede any action that Israel takes, unlike the Biden Inc. administration.
“Hamas has nothing left to lose. ”
Hamas has plenty left to lose. It’s not about the buildings, it’s about the organization. I’m sure Israel knows where they are. If they kill the hostages, they are dead men walking.
Jimmy
Hamas has plenty left to lose. It’s not about the buildings, it’s about the organization. I’m sure Israel knows where they are. If they kill the hostages, they are dead men walking.
Let us hope Israel knows their locations. I have my doubts about Israel knowing the locations of Hamas honchos. After all, Sinwar was not killed in an operation that deliberately targeted him. Sinwar’s death was a case of chance favoring the prepared mind.
Iran has a lot left to lose. I think Trump is speaking to Iran’s leaders.
Iran has a lot left to lose. I think Trump is speaking to Iran’s leaders.
–neo
I care about the hostages, but the real game for Israel and the US is Iran.
Israel’s recent reprisal to Iran’s mass missile and drone attacks took out Iran’s air defenses. Iran is effectively naked to a determined Israeli attack upon Iranian nuclear facilities and much of Iran’s economic infrastructure.
I think we are heading towards a high noon moment.
I predict Hamas will dribble out a few more hostages to play for time.
This game has an ending.
Neo:
If the hostages die and Bibi is removed Israel hasn’t learned anything and willingly commits itself to more hostage taking. My sympathy really dries up then.
Who feeds Gaza? Hamas? Does Hamas feed Gaza?
Who supplies Gaza with potable water? Hamas? Does Hamas supply Gaza with potable water?
Who supplies oil, natural gas, refined fuels and lubricants to Gaza? Hamas? Does Hamas supply these things?
How about electricity generation, or modern communications systems? Hamas?
Life in Gaza is fixing to become very harsh indeed, quite apart from bullets flying or bombs and missiles coursing target-bound.
Perhaps this is the time to take him both literally and seriously.
https://youtu.be/_zKJAvSgK_g?si=8uN42LbnKWfDE2LZ
@ sdferr — Who feeds Gaza etc.
It is well known that Israel is the only country in the history of the world that is FORCED by international pressure to supply their sworn enemies.
The US and international aid to OUR sworn enemies is both corrupt and IMO treasonous.
The US post-war Marshall plan was undertaken voluntarily, with excellent results; the US aid that propped up Soviet Russia for decades was corrupt and misguided (IMO), but not extorted.
At least, I don’t think so — cue Artfldgr for some history there.
A little levity to release the pressure of the situation, which is existentially serious.
This is one suggestion for who should take over the administration of Gaza.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GjMNOpGXsAAieJF?format=jpg&name=medium