Hamas states that it holds the Israeli government responsible for the decision. According to Hamas, around 100 people are being held hostage. Israel’s army claims to have identified all those held hostage, the newspaper reports Haaretz.
– What Hamas has to gain is, firstly, to get a prisoner exchange, and secondly, to show that they managed to get into Israel and succeeded in carrying out this attack. It is a win for Hamas in terms of rhetoric and propaganda, that they are an important Palestinian leader, says Isabell Schierenbeck, professor of political science at the University of Gothenburg and visiting professor at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
“Remains to be seen if you change your strategy”
Hamas has previously come out and said that it has taken hostages in order to achieve a prisoner exchange.
– But then it remains to be seen if that will be the case or if the strategy is changed if Israel, for example, sends in ground troops or if something else happens, it is too early to say, says Isabell Schierenbeck.
See more about the hostage-taking in the clip above.