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Conflict in the Middle East

Why don't Hamas just release all the hostages?

154 replies

springbabydays · 18/05/2025 06:43

First time wading in here but reading this morning's developments, it says Hamas have offered to release 9 hostages in exchange for a 60 day truce and some prisoners.

Why not release all hostages to end the war?

What's in it for them to prolong this? They are clearly not going to 'beat' Israel.

OP posts:
allamberedover · 18/05/2025 07:37

Didn't I recently read that Hamas had released the last living hostage ?

housinglife · 18/05/2025 07:44

springbabydays · 18/05/2025 07:34

A tiny bit of power, but for what? It's not working for them is it?

It’s not working for the people of Gaza, but Hamas don’t care about them. If they did they’d have sheltered them in the tunnels. Instead they have issued a public statement that they need the blood of their own citizens to fortify their fighters.

People here are ignorant about Hamas. They are Islamists. This is a racist Religious war for them. It’s about destroying Jews and a true ethnic cleansing of them from the land. In their own recordings of October 7th they said, ‘ where are the Jews? Where are the Jewish dogs?’ They didn’t try to hide their racist murderous intent like Westerners do by hiding behind the word ‘Zionist’. They said what they meant.

They are still murdering Israelis in terrorist attacks in Israel, btw, as well as firing rockets.

housinglife · 18/05/2025 07:45

allamberedover · 18/05/2025 07:37

Didn't I recently read that Hamas had released the last living hostage ?

Last American living hostage. To curry favour with Trump.

allamberedover · 18/05/2025 07:53

Thank you @housinglife .
The news is universally so dreadful that I do tend to read it with one eye shut (iyswim) and missed that important detail.🤭.

Twiglets1 · 18/05/2025 07:55

Charmeleon33 · 18/05/2025 07:28

Am I the only one who thinks if Israel really wanted the hostages back they could have gone and got them by about October 9th 2023?

It suits their agenda better for those poor people to be used as an excuse for what they’re doing now.

Edited

You are one of the very few people thinking that I imagine.

Ridiculous to suggest that Israel are somehow to blame for their innocent civilians being taken and held as hostages. Of course they couldn't have just "gone and got them" 2 days later - they were and are being held in captivity in underground tunnels in unknown locations.

MyNameIsX · 18/05/2025 07:59

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

allamberedover · 18/05/2025 09:40

@MyNameIsX quite agree ! How very dare they !
Oh ,hang on a minute ,how very dare the rest of the world (unwashed or not)support and sell arms to countries decimating and starving civilian populations .
Oh ,hang on another minute - it's ok because they've washed and are driven by financial gain .

MyNameIsX · 18/05/2025 09:49

allamberedover · 18/05/2025 09:40

@MyNameIsX quite agree ! How very dare they !
Oh ,hang on a minute ,how very dare the rest of the world (unwashed or not)support and sell arms to countries decimating and starving civilian populations .
Oh ,hang on another minute - it's ok because they've washed and are driven by financial gain .

Palestine is a vipers nest.

Tel Aviv is right to ensure it that attacks originating from Palestine or elsewhere, are no longer permitted to represent a threat to Israel’s security.

Before you try, I do not condone the loss of innocent civilian life.

Standtallandproudalways · 18/05/2025 10:00

JustGoClickLikeALightSwitch · 18/05/2025 06:55

They are a death cult. Putting Israel in a situation where it overreaches, causes disproportionate harm to Gazans (who Hamas don’t give a toss about), images of Gaza being starved, Israel acting inappropriately - it’s great PR for Hamas. If they returned the hostages that would likely stop. It’s not in their interests.

This.

Hamas love bargaining chips. It feels like they are loving the increase in support after pushing Israel to the edge.

They don't love their children or their people, they just hate Jewish people, so don't want this to end. They also love money, billions of it, and power.

Whatsinanamehey · 18/05/2025 10:08

They have offered to release all the hostages multiple times for a full ceasefire but Israel have repeatedly said no.

Standtallandproudalways · 18/05/2025 10:09

Charmeleon33 · 18/05/2025 07:28

Am I the only one who thinks if Israel really wanted the hostages back they could have gone and got them by about October 9th 2023?

It suits their agenda better for those poor people to be used as an excuse for what they’re doing now.

Edited

Since the hostages were held in different places and by other terrorist groups and by ordinary citizens where would they get they from?

Even hamas have said at times they didn't know where they all were? They pretended some were dead when they weren't.

If only as easy as in the films, go in, rescue them, and out!

Whatsinanamehey · 18/05/2025 10:14

housinglife · 18/05/2025 07:34

There are 7 million people in Israel, 2 million of whom are Arabs. So Israel is clearly not ‘Ethnic cleansing Arabs’

There are zero Jews in Gaza.

Israel ARE ethnically cleansing Palestinians from Gaza. Netanyahu has openly spoke multiple times about his plans to cleanse them further. Someone would really have to have their head in the sand to not see that.

Whatsinanamehey · 18/05/2025 10:17

JustGoClickLikeALightSwitch · 18/05/2025 06:55

They are a death cult. Putting Israel in a situation where it overreaches, causes disproportionate harm to Gazans (who Hamas don’t give a toss about), images of Gaza being starved, Israel acting inappropriately - it’s great PR for Hamas. If they returned the hostages that would likely stop. It’s not in their interests.

Are you saying the Israeli government have no agency? Its the classic narcissist approach of don't blame me, They made me do it! When carrying out war crimes and mass starvation.

JustGoClickLikeALightSwitch · 18/05/2025 10:21

I'm very clearly not, either in this post or my subsequent reply. The clues are terms like "disproportionate harm", "acting inappropriately" or (sub post) "Israel are doing a great job making themselves look bad and isolating the country from Europe and the US".

EasternStandard · 18/05/2025 10:22

Yes they should just release all hostages, I’m not sure why Hamas don’t.

Whatsinanamehey · 18/05/2025 10:24

And for those who have forgotten, all if not most of the hostages would have been released now if Israel had not turned back on the deal both sides had signed and refused to move on to the second phase.

Hamas should never have taken the hostages in the first place, but its incorrect thar they have not offered to release them to end the war. As one of the hostages mother said yesterday 'Netanyahu is the angel of death'. He has abandoned the hostages because war suits his political survival.

Aikko · 18/05/2025 10:25

housinglife · 18/05/2025 07:34

There are 7 million people in Israel, 2 million of whom are Arabs. So Israel is clearly not ‘Ethnic cleansing Arabs’

There are zero Jews in Gaza.

Indeed, the Jewish people were ethnically cleansed.

In 1945, 856,000 Jewish people lived in the middle east, north Africa and the Gulf region. Only about 4,500 remain, almost all of them in Morocco and Tunisia. Jewish people have lived continuously in the middle east and north Africa for over 2,600 years, yet in just a few decades they almost totally disappeared. Thousands were expelled or fled their home countries in fear. Around 850,000 were forced out or felt they had to leave following the United Nations decision to partition Palestine in 1947. Age-old communities, with roots dating back millennia, were gone. It was the largest exodus of non-Muslims from the middle east until the movement of Christians from Iraq after 2003.

Between 1948 and 1972, pogroms and violent attacks were perpetrated in every Arab country against its Jewish residents. The ethnic cleansing of thousands of Jewish people from the Arab world in the mid-20th century was described by journalist Tom Gross as “systematic, absolute and unprovoked.” For example, there were 38,000 Jews living in western Libya before 1945. Now there are none. Few of the 74 synagogues in Libya are recognisable, and a highway runs through Tripoli’s Jewish cemetery. In Algeria, 50 years ago, there were 140,000 Jewish people. Now there are none. In Iraq, there were 135,000, and in Egypt, 75,000. Almost all are gone from those countries too. Some 259,000 left Morocco, 55,000 left Yemen, 20,000 left Lebanon, 180,000 left Syria and 25,000 left Iran. What happened amounted to the near total extinction of an ancient civilisation.

Twiglets1 · 18/05/2025 10:43

Whatsinanamehey · 18/05/2025 10:08

They have offered to release all the hostages multiple times for a full ceasefire but Israel have repeatedly said no.

Only because Hamas have also been refusing to put down their arms.

Very short term thinking if Israel agreed to a permanent ceasefire while Hamas can just attack them again. Which they have vowed to do.

Twiglets1 · 18/05/2025 10:44

Whatsinanamehey · 18/05/2025 10:24

And for those who have forgotten, all if not most of the hostages would have been released now if Israel had not turned back on the deal both sides had signed and refused to move on to the second phase.

Hamas should never have taken the hostages in the first place, but its incorrect thar they have not offered to release them to end the war. As one of the hostages mother said yesterday 'Netanyahu is the angel of death'. He has abandoned the hostages because war suits his political survival.

The first phase had finished so Israel didn’t turn their back on any deal that was still in place. They just refused to move onto a second phase unless Hamas committed to putting down their arms.

Standtallandproudalways · 18/05/2025 10:50

Aikko · 18/05/2025 10:25

Indeed, the Jewish people were ethnically cleansed.

In 1945, 856,000 Jewish people lived in the middle east, north Africa and the Gulf region. Only about 4,500 remain, almost all of them in Morocco and Tunisia. Jewish people have lived continuously in the middle east and north Africa for over 2,600 years, yet in just a few decades they almost totally disappeared. Thousands were expelled or fled their home countries in fear. Around 850,000 were forced out or felt they had to leave following the United Nations decision to partition Palestine in 1947. Age-old communities, with roots dating back millennia, were gone. It was the largest exodus of non-Muslims from the middle east until the movement of Christians from Iraq after 2003.

Between 1948 and 1972, pogroms and violent attacks were perpetrated in every Arab country against its Jewish residents. The ethnic cleansing of thousands of Jewish people from the Arab world in the mid-20th century was described by journalist Tom Gross as “systematic, absolute and unprovoked.” For example, there were 38,000 Jews living in western Libya before 1945. Now there are none. Few of the 74 synagogues in Libya are recognisable, and a highway runs through Tripoli’s Jewish cemetery. In Algeria, 50 years ago, there were 140,000 Jewish people. Now there are none. In Iraq, there were 135,000, and in Egypt, 75,000. Almost all are gone from those countries too. Some 259,000 left Morocco, 55,000 left Yemen, 20,000 left Lebanon, 180,000 left Syria and 25,000 left Iran. What happened amounted to the near total extinction of an ancient civilisation.

This. The Jewish people have been cleared out of the region. That's ethnic cleansing. They have Israel left.
I watched the Pope's inauguration this morning and the very first reading in Spanish was talking of the people of Israel. Long before Arabs came and invaded the lands there were Jewish people, Egyptians etc, been there thousands of years. Now moved from the area into Israel and few left in other lands.

housinglife · 18/05/2025 10:59

Whatsinanamehey · 18/05/2025 10:14

Israel ARE ethnically cleansing Palestinians from Gaza. Netanyahu has openly spoke multiple times about his plans to cleanse them further. Someone would really have to have their head in the sand to not see that.

The poster said Israel was ethnically cleansing Arabs from the region. This is simply untrue as I pointed out.

Read Aikki’s post below for a good description of how Jews have been ethnically cleansed from their ancient homeland.

This really isn’t the simple goodie/ baddie story you want it to be.

ILoveBrum · 18/05/2025 11:12

JustGoClickLikeALightSwitch · 18/05/2025 06:55

They are a death cult. Putting Israel in a situation where it overreaches, causes disproportionate harm to Gazans (who Hamas don’t give a toss about), images of Gaza being starved, Israel acting inappropriately - it’s great PR for Hamas. If they returned the hostages that would likely stop. It’s not in their interests.

This sadly!

EasyTouch · 18/05/2025 11:15

Whatsinanamehey · 18/05/2025 10:17

Are you saying the Israeli government have no agency? Its the classic narcissist approach of don't blame me, They made me do it! When carrying out war crimes and mass starvation.

One has to act crazy to deal with crazy.
Petting and powdering narcissists like Hamas just makes their hatred more intense.
Hamas and those complicit to Hamas love taking a beating.
Probably best not to look through this whole situation through a normal "poor them" lens.
It's that perfectly normal psychological lens that Hamas and those complicit with Hamas are using to take the piss out of support for Gazans (from the West. Non Western support for Gazans usually is far more direct in acknowledging that this cannot be seperated from anti Israel as a nation or notion/support for anti Israeli terrorism).
In fact all sites that I visit outside of Mumsnet, people are far less shy about stating their obvious anti Israel as a nation concept whilst.standing ten toes down for Gazans and only taking "history" back to 1947 because it's far harder to fool those who want to be fooled that Arabs in the Levant were out there walking the Jewish people through nature before they suddenly decided to turn around and "steal" a nation for themselves, for absolutely no reason, justification or historical right at all.

allamberedover · 18/05/2025 11:33

@Aikko you describe the atrocities against Jewish people .

Does that mean because unconscionable,terrible things happened that it is accepted that further terrible ,unconscionable things are perpetrated with the world looking on and providing various kinds of support to those continuing these actions .

PurpleChrayn · 18/05/2025 11:42

Hamas won’t stop until Israel is eradicated. It’s part of their founding manifesto. Unfortunately they aren’t clever enough to realise that they will never succeed. Israel is strongly armed, technologically advanced, and unwilling to be wiped out.

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