Hamas has escalated its brutal tactics in the ongoing conflict with Israel, signaling a chilling new phase in an already devastating war.
The terrorist organization recently announced that its militants guarding Israeli hostages in Gaza have “new instructions” to kill them if Israeli troops approach.
The announcement came just two days after the Israel Defense Forces discovered the bodies of six hostages in a tunnel underneath the Gazan city of Rafah this weekend. Their autopsies revealed all six had been shot execution style at close ranges.
According to Israel’s National Institute of Forensic Medicine, the hostages were killed between Thursday evening and Friday morning, mere hours before the Israeli military reached them.
“I’m sorry.”
This was the last message of Hersh Goldberg-Polin z”l, whose funeral I watched this morning. It was gut wrenching. Soul shredding. Beyond painful.
But we are the ones who owe Hersh and his family, and all the victims and their families, an apology.
I’m sorry… https://t.co/9doNRkNzqZ
— Jonathan Greenblatt (@JGreenblattADL) September 2, 2024
Horrifyingly, Hamas had released a comic-book style image depicting a hostage threatened at gunpoint, followed by a video of Eden Yerushalmi, a 24-year-old bartender who was abducted from the Nova music festival on October 7. Yerushalmi is one of six hostages that they murdered.
Even worse, Hamas to maximize psychological warfare, Hamas declared it would release “final messages” from the remaining five slain hostages in an effort to psychologically torture Israelis.
On Tuesday, they shared a second video featuring Ori Danino, another 25-year-old kidnapped from the Nova festival. The timing of these releases was particularly heinous, coinciding with the funerals of the murdered hostages.
Hamas didn’t just execute the hostages. It filmed them first. This is Eden Yerushalmi, in the clip her family approved for release.
Hamas is a death cult. It must die. pic.twitter.com/8aBUotZgAy
— Eylon Levy (@EylonALevy) September 2, 2024
“Hamas’ new tactics amount to psychological terror,” said Yerushalmi’s family, echoing the sentiments of many Israelis who are overwhelmed with the barbarity of the terrorist group’s actions.
The brutal murders of these hostages have ignited widespread protests across Israel. Citizens are directing their anger at Netanyahu, accusing him of prioritizing his political survival over the lives of Israeli hostages. Right-wing members of his coalition have threatened to topple the government if the war ends, placing Netanyahu in a precarious position.
Tahani Mustafa, a senior Palestine analyst at Crisis Group, offered insight into Hamas’ shifting strategy: “Hamas has taken the hostage issue out of the equation. It knows that this current Israeli administration is not interested in any kind of hostage release deal. I don’t think they consider them as substantial playing cards any longer.”
Hamas terrorists: “Our issue is not just Palestine, our issue is killing every non-Muslim. We will pursue Jews and Christians all over the world. Either they convert to Islam or we’ll kill them!”
Hamas is a terrorist organization and must be destroyed!
— Dr. Maalouf (@realMaalouf) August 16, 2024
This change in Hamas’ approach appears to be a response to successful Israeli rescue operations. In June, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) rescued four hostages from a refugee camp in central Gaza, killing 274 Palestinians in the process. More recently, the IDF retrieved another hostage, Farhan Al-Qadi, from a tunnel in Gaza.
These successful rescues have bolstered Netanyahu’s argument that Israel can simultaneously pursue its goals of destroying Hamas and returning the hostages. However, the recent murders have led many Israelis to question whether the military offensive is actually endangering the remaining hostages.
Ori Goldberg, an Israeli political analyst, explained: “The penny that dropped for a lot of Israelis is that going after Hamas is not complementing the return of the hostages. It is hindering and hampering the return of the hostages.”
Despite growing public pressure, Netanyahu has doubled down on his strategy in Gaza. In a defiant speech, he vowed strong retaliation against Hamas for the killings and reiterated his commitment to defeating the terrorist organization. He also insisted on maintaining an Israeli military presence along the border between Gaza and Egypt, a stance that threatens to derail negotiations for a ceasefire and hostage release deal.
Prime minister @netanyahu on Biden blaming Israel for lack of hostage deal:
“These murderers executed six hostages, and we’re asked to make concessions? What message does this send Hamas? It says, murder more hostages and you will get more concessions.”pic.twitter.com/xKPkPfUo8e
— Dr. Eli David (@DrEliDavid) September 3, 2024
This hardline position has caused tension within Netanyahu’s own government. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant reportedly argued with Netanyahu over the issue of maintaining troops in the Philadelphi Corridor, a strategic strip of land along the Gaza-Egypt border. Gallant warned that insisting on this condition could prevent any agreement and further endanger the hostages.
The international community is also growing increasingly concerned about Israel’s approach. U.S. President Joe Biden, when asked if Netanyahu was doing enough to reach an agreement, simply replied, “No.”
When Hamas ruthlessly shoots six hostages in the head the media blames Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. The fact is the Israelis were on the verge of rescuing the six hostages and Hamas killed them in cold blood rather than letting them be rescued. we have to be clear about who…
— Newt Gingrich (@newtgingrich) September 2, 2024
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As the conflict enters this new, even more perilous phase, the fate of the remaining hostages hangs in the balance. The Israeli government faces the daunting challenge of combating Hamas’ reign of terror while also working to bring its citizens home safely.