The Palestinian extremist organization Hamas, which attacked Israel, has taken many civilians and soldiers hostage.
According to the Israeli government, Hamas is holding more than a hundred Israelis hostage.
Senior researcher at the Foreign Policy Institute Timo R. Stewart says the hostages bring Hamas a bargaining chip. Hostages can be exchanged for prisoners.
Hamas has taken hostages in the past and exchanged them for a significant number of Hamas members captured by Israel. For example, in 2011, Israel released another thousand Palestinians in exchange for one Israeli.
– The tactic of warfare, where people are deliberately kidnapped as hostages, is in no way acceptable. It’s really disgusting. But they probably think this is useful.
– It could very well be that this has been one of the mission’s major goals since the beginning, says Stewart.
Hamas spokesman Hazem Qasim tells Norwegian Broadcasting in an interview that the main goal of the operation is to free Palestinian prisoners.
– We pressure the occupiers to release our heroes in Israeli prisons. Some of them have been in prison for 20, 30, 40 years. The occupiers have not listened to us. Our main goal is to release the Palestinian prisoners, says Qasim.
Israel can be threatened by killing hostages
Hostages can also be used as human shields to avoid bombings.
– Hamas must have counted on the fact that when Israel starts bombing, they can make it known that these hostages might be in Hamas military targets, which Israel would otherwise bomb, says Stewart.
Israel may also be threatened by killing the hostages. This could, for example, hinder the Israeli army’s possible ground operation in Gaza.
Hostages are engaged in dirty warfare.
– Even kidnapping soldiers as, for example, human shields or as a means of trade is not acceptable.
Hamas fighters first broke through the border fence erected by the Israeli army and attacked the soldiers guarding the area. After that, Hamas forces advanced to nearby kibbutzim and villages.
– Civilians have also been attacked there. Apparently, civilians have been deliberately taken in these situations. Of course, it has been a shocking experience for the people in these villages and kibbutzim.
Israeli prisons are familiar to Palestinians
The condition of the hostages is unknown, but they have reportedly been taken to the cramped Gaza Strip. The hostage situation is difficult for Israel.
– Until the end, we want to avoid a situation where they would remain prisoners of Hamas for a long time or they would be executed.
Israel would like its special forces to release the hostages home alive. This is why it is important for Hamas to keep the location of the hostages a secret.
There are many Palestinians in Israeli prisons and more have been imprisoned during the conflict.
Since 1967, it is estimated that there have been more than 700,000 Palestinians in Israeli prisons at various times, Stewart says.
– A very common Palestinian experience is that they themselves or someone in their family has spent some time in an Israeli prison.
Imprisonments can be quite long. So-called administrative detention is also used, where people can be kept in prisons for a long time without being charged.
It is also very easy for Israel to arrest people again if they want to.
Hamas’ actions are a war crime
International treaties unequivocally prohibit violence against civilians in war.
According to Stewart, rockets fired by Hamas from Gaza were known to hit civilians. Rockets fired into the city cannot be aimed so accurately that they could be aimed at military bases.
– Civilians have been shot on purpose, which is against international law.
Hamas claims that the settlers it killed are not civilians. The organization justifies its claim with the fact that in Israel there is a general conscription, whereby both men and women have served two or three years in the army.
– From the point of view of international law, they are civilians, but Hamas uses as an argument that they are persons who sometimes wear a uniform.
Hamas seeks to sow fear
Pictures and videos of Hamas’ atrocities against people are spreading on social media. However, the authenticity of the pictures is unknown.
– I have no difficulty believing that they could not be real. There is a really long conflict in the background. There is a lot of bitterness and anger. Hamas also certainly deliberately uses brutality and seeks to sow fear.
For Israelis, the image is shocking.
– These are like any other people. They live in villages and settlements near Gaza. They probably see themselves in them. This feels really cruel and horrible.
Palestinians, especially in Gaza, are used to seeing violence.
– People without limbs are carried out of bombed buildings. All the huge numbers of wounded and dead that have occurred over the years in various conflicts with Israel. They feel that they are in the position of the victim and perhaps the avenger.