Israelis held hostage in Gaza - part 3

[StarbucksSmarterSister]

Part 3.

I hope they come home soon and there's no need for a part 4.

Thanks @StarbucksSmarterSister

I have seen and read about some awful footage today from Nova. How parents were 'informed' of their children's deaths by Hamas using their faces to open their phones then sending footage to their families

There is far more detail I could go into but I won't. It's horribly graphic. No family should have to go through that.

I've just seen that as well. It's plausible as I already knew about the family who found out about their mother/grandmother's murder from the terrorists live-streaming it from her own facebook account.

I've also just seen that the mother of Naama Levy has been heckled by protesters in New York.

Poor hostages, and when they get to safety, the IDF shoots them

Thanks @StarbucksSmarterSister

@SomeCatFromJapan how is anything that ladies fault? How awful for her to face that at this time. And the footage was clear... how can anyone excuse the barbaric way she was treated?

I saw it too. I won't repeat it either but something very similar happened at the Munich Olympics.

Same negotiations

''Islamic Jihad, a smaller Palestinian militant group which is also holding hostages in Gaza, said its leader would also visit Egypt in the coming days to discuss a possible end to the war, according to AP.''

@Efacsen that’s interesting . Maybe a more comprehensive ‘truce’

I wonder how many other factions are going to come out of the woodwork and say they are holding hostages.

Thanks for the new thread, shame we need one.

I know it’s not that important in the grand scheme of things but I keep on thinking about those poor people who have been displaced and left with nothing, it’s 5 days to Christmas and I’m rushing about my house cleaning and stressing about things and then I remember. I can’t even begin to imagine what is going on over there and this war has absolutely shook me to the core to be honest. I never knew how evil the world can be and I thank god I was born here. It could have been any of us.

sorry for rambling, I can’t really talk about this at home, both of my dc are autistic and have severe anxiety and ocd, both very “high functioning” ( hate that phrase ) but worry about absolutely everything.

I hope for some sort of ceasefire asap. This cannot go on indefinitely.

From the Guardian:

Hamas rejects Israeli offer for seven-day truce for release of hostages – report
Hamas has said Israel must implement a ceasefire before negotiations on a hostage release can commence, rejecting an Israeli proposal for a week-long truce in exchange for the release of dozens of hostages, according to a report.
The head of Hamas’s political wing, Ismail Haniyeh, told intelligence officials in Cairo today the group would not discuss releasing Israeli hostages until a ceasefire first goes into effect, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing Egyptian officials.
The paper says Hamas rejected an offer by Israel to pause its ground and air operations in Gaza for a week and allow further humanitarian aid to enter the territory, in return for freeing 40 hostages, including all the remaining women and children abducted during the 7 October attacks.
Hamas also said that Israel must free all of its thousands of Palestinian prisoners in return for the over 100 hostages remaining in Gaza, the report said.
The hostage negotiations were set to include, for the first time, representatives of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the report said.

@25milesfromhome that's interesting. Not sure how I feel about that.

@stomachameleon Neither am I.

I'd say Hamas appears to be feeling emboldened for whatever reason. I hope it's not thanks to the UN.

@SomeCatFromJapan that's worrying.

I guess they have seen what happened after the temporary pause so are holding out for a ceasefire. A 7 day pause would be of no benefit to Hamas and once the hostages are released that is their leverage gone. As the days go on the situation for both the hostages and the civilians of Gaza is desperate.

I’d actually really like to know what the people of Gaza, whom Hamas are supposed to represent, think of a week long truce being turned down on their behalf.

Maybe I don’t understand the process well enough, but I would have thought an initial truce and hostage release would pave the way towards a ceasefire considerably more speedily and successfully than making demands that the Israeli government will clearly never agree to. A lot of negotiations could be carried out in a week if that’s where the focus was, rather than fighting.

This is what I find confusing. Is a ceasefire actually on the table? I can't see Israel agreeing to any option that includes Hamas retaining control of Gaza. So the only two ways I can see this ending is either Hamas agrees to cede control of Gaza, or the fighting continues until they are ousted.
But obviously the hostages do somewhat complicate things.

@25milesfromhome I think there's a mix. Some are desperate for any relief, even if its just a week and will not be happy at all that this was turned down, infact many would be fuming.
Others think a week break is like a cruel way of allowing them to feed their kids before the inevitable killing that will resume once it ends. And would rather hold out for a full ceasefire. As before the last truce it was made clear by Netanyahu that once the truce ends then the fighting would resume even if all the hostages are released.

@QueenRania Hamas only need to stick to the terms of the ceasefire for things to be extended but If they continue to fire rockets from infrastructure and refuse to allow the Red Cross in to see the hostages (the ones they haven't mislaid or lost to other factions) they would force Israel into lengthening things which is surely the right thing for their people?

Who wants more suffering? People/ babies/ elderly are not 'leverage'.

And also what @SomeCatFromJapan said. That a full ceasefire is not on the table right now from the Israeli side as that would mean Hamas is still in power which goes against the main aim of the war

I read something (unfortunately I can’t remember where or I’d find it and post it) indicating that there’s a schism developing in Hamas leadership- the ones in Qatar are trying to position themselves as a viable option for future government in both Gaza and the West Bank- which is obviously unacceptable to Israel- whilst the Hamas leaders in Gaza want to continue with the violence. This could be complicating ceasefire negotiations.

Unless ofcourse the tactic changes to we will only accept a full ceasefire if those countries calling for one including the UN help us through other channels to remove Hamas from Gaza. Which would not be a bad idea although I don't know if something like that could be implemented

@25milesfromhome That also makes sense. There must be a lot going on behind the scenes.

@25milesfromhome I have read that. They are prepared to throw sinwar under the bus to present themselves as the acceptable face of government.