CAIRO, Aug 15 (Reuters) - A Hamas guard who killed an Israeli hostage acted "in revenge" and against instructions after he heard news that his two children had been killed in an Israeli strike, a spokesperson for the group's armed wing said on Thursday.
"The (Hamas) soldier assigned as a guard acted in a retaliatory manner, against instructions, after he received information that his two children were martyred in one of the massacres conducted by the enemy," Abu Ubaida said on Telegram.
"The incident doesn't represent our ethics and the instructions of our religion in dealing with captives. We will reinforce the instructions," he added.
Their restraint is actually unbelievable and makes me question what I know about human resilience and dignity
It makes me feel like I am capable of incredible discipline
Seeing the tunnels makes me wonder about the future of civilization, about the projects we are capable of beyond capitalism's dampening constraints, and the primitive ones before it
Hamas had a whole investigation and remediation in the space of days, in the middle of a war zone. Meanwhile we're still waiting to find out who killed Shireen Abu Akleh over 2 years ago.
Keep in mind it's always possible that they do this partly for PR. But at least they were transparent, even if they did in to look good. After all, next to Israel, anyone would look good.
I'll be honest, at this point it's no longer clear what purpose the hostages are serving anyway. The Israeli government is not negotiating for their return in good faith, and they haven't deterred the wholesale glassing of the Gaza strip. There is seemingly no legitimate interest in getting the hostages back alive. Even if you consider the token Israeli "protests" being organized, most of those people aren't actually demanding an end to the war. It's fairly obvious the hostages are no longer serving as useful bargaining chips (if they ever were). I can't say I really blame this guy.
In fact, one may even argue this was an act of mercy compared to the alternative of being indefinitely held prisoner in presumably pretty poor conditions, just waiting to be murdered by the IDF.
Part of me thinks it's propaganda not bargaining power. On several occasions the IDF has dropped bombs on or shot the hostages accidentaly wontonly. The message Hamas is maybe trying to send is that the IDF doesn't care about saving the hostages. The IDF just want to eradicate the Palestinians. Then again I'm halfway around the world so what do I really know?
For what it's worth, I tend to agree with you. It's definitely about the propaganda value and the perceived "moral high ground", but the real question is how much are those things actually worth in the current state of the conflict. At least in my view, sadly very little.
Were there no hostages Israel would never agree to a ceasefire. They would claim they need to eradicate Hamas no matter the cost. The massive demonstrations for a ceasefire inside of Israel are to get the hostages out. Not because they care for Palestinians.
Were there no hostages Israel would never agree to a ceasefire. They would claim they need to eradicate Hamas no matter the cost.
So... you mean like how things are already? That's the exact point I'm making, lmao.
The massive demonstrations for a ceasefire inside of Israel are to get the hostages out. Not because they care for Palestinians.
No shit. But what good is a "ceasefire" if it doesn't actually end the war? Hamas has no incentive to agree to hand over hostages if Israel is just going to resume bombing the shit out of Gaza as soon as they've been released, which is what most of the demonstrators actually want.
I think that Hamas fighters should listen to their superiors.
I don't think killing hostages is the right thing to do.
Have a hard time finding fault with this person for seeking revenge after hearing that his children were murdered.
So, the guard shouldn't have done this, but I can't say that I would do differently in his situation. If someone killed my child I would be looking for revenge as well.
Terrorists killing hostages in response to his kids being killed by other terrorists. Who would have that that this is where this war was going to lead...