Taking hostages as a means of exerting pressure during negotiations: that is why Hamas fighters kidnap dozens of civilians

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Israel is under attack. Massive and surprising rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip took place on Saturday morning. It is the worst attack on Israel in half a century. The country is in a state of war.

But it is not just the rockets that the Israeli people should fear. In addition to the death toll, which currently stands at around 600, Hamas has also taken dozens of innocent people hostage. Children are also among the missing.

Hamas fighters stormed the music festival

One of them is the German Shani Louk (22). She fell into the clutches of Hamas on Saturday morning during a music festival. The celebrations ended abruptly when several Hamas fighters suddenly appeared and fired rockets and shots into the crowd. Photos that circulated on social media shortly afterwards suggest that Louk is probably no longer alive.

25-year-old Noa Argamani was also kidnapped at the festival. One video shows her sitting in the backseat of a Hamas fighter’s motorcycle pleading for her life: “Don’t kill me! No no no!” However, her friend can only watch helplessly as she rushes away with the armed men. There has been no trace of Noa since.

Doron Asher (34) and her two daughters Raz (5) and Aviv (3) were also captured by Hamas fighters. It is unknown how they are doing and whether they are still alive.

Hamas fighters deliberately lure Israelis into a trap

Apparently the Hamas fighters are using outrageous tricks to trap Israeli civilians. They reportedly knocked on the doors of residents who expected Israeli soldiers to reassure them about the air raid sirens.

Before they know what is happening to them, the civilians are being dragged away at gunpoint. Video footage shows Hamas fighters chanting “Allahu Akbar,” which means “God is great,” during the removals.

For Israelis living near the Gaza Strip, the current situation is torture. “That was always the nightmare. We told ourselves that the terrorists would come here one day,” resident Jehan Berman told the Daily Mail.

He was told by Israeli authorities that Hamas had kidnapped his 75-year-old mother-in-law, several friends and their children. Berman doesn’t know what exactly happened to them or what condition they are in. Since then, he has not received any sign of life from the abductees.

Kidnappings as a possible means of pressure for negotiations

Hamas’s brutal actions are reminiscent of IS terrorists, who also presented their hostages as prey on social media and then executed them.

As a Hamas leader indicated on Saturday, the radical Islamic organization had no plans to kill the hostages. Instead, they want to use it as leverage to secure the release of their own prisoners in Israeli prisons.

However, that could not be the only reason for the kidnappings. According to Foreign Policy, the captured Israelis could even be used as human shields to prevent the Israeli air force from blowing up certain targets. (ced)

Source: Blick