Following the murder of six Israeli hostages kidnapped by the terrorist group Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the militia’s willingness to negotiate has been questioned and there have even been speculations that many of the other hostages may be dead.
Retired US Army Colonel and former intelligence officer Octavio Perez said a leader of the Al Qassam Brigade (the military wing of the Hamas movement in power in Gaza since 2007) admitted that an order was given after June this year to kill hostages if they saw an Israeli force approaching and a rescue was about to take place.
“And it seems that the order was carried out in August with this group of six who were killed shortly before the rescue,” said Pérez when consulted by THE AMERICAS DAILY.
The colonel recalled that the Open source intelligence monitor focused on Europe and conflicts around the world (OSINTdefender) noted that there has been a serious escalation of violence as Hamas Al-Qassam Brigades spokesman Abu Obaida has released a statement and a photoshopped image insinuating his responsibility for the killing of the six hostages who were discovered in southern Gaza, while further implying that he has instructed the guards of other hostages to kill them if Israeli forces attempt a rescue operation.
In that Monitor, referred to by Perez, it is noted that the mujahideen assigned to guard the prisoners were given instructions on how to deal with them if the Occupation Army approached their place of detention… “Netanyahu’s insistence on releasing the prisoners through military pressure rather than reaching an agreement will mean that they will return to their families in coffins and their families will have to choose whether they are alive or dead.”
The military analyst recalled that this is why the first Israeli Minister Benjamin Netanyahu He reiterated that “those who kill hostages do not want agreements.”
In a statement, Netanyahu warned Hamas leaders that “we will hunt them down, we will catch them and we will settle accounts.”
For his part, the Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallantsaid the hostages were “murdered in cold blood.” US President Joe Biden said that among the recovered bodies was that of Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin and said he was “devastated.”
The bodies were found in an underground tunnel in the Rafah area on September 1.
The remains of the hostages, kidnapped on October 7, 2023were found “in an underground tunnel in the Rafah area,” in the south of the Palestinian territory, and “transferred to Israel where they were formally identified”: Hersh Goldberg, 23; Eden Yerushalmi, 24; Carmel Gat, 39; Almog Sarusi, 26; Alex Lobanov, 32; Ori Danino, 25.
In Octavio Pérez’s opinion there are two reasons for the continuation of the war An argument that is reinforced by recent events: rescuing hostages and bodies and ensuring Israel’s security by ending Hamas. “Because if you don’t want to compromise and hand over hostages, there is no point in negotiation,” he said.
Hostages
The geopolitical expert noted that 17 bodies have been recovered and 4 hostages have been rescued in operations since the beginning of 2024.
The two sides have been negotiating for months on a deal to halt fighting in Gaza and get Hamas to release more hostages it is holding in the Palestinian territory.
The United States is mediating alongside Qatar and Egypt. There are now about 100 hostages left, although Israeli officials have said many of them are probably dead.
Octavio Pérez’s investigations allow him to assume that there are possibly between 60 and 64 hostages still alive. and “possibly 35 corpses,” which means there is less “exchange product each time.”
He wondered if, in the face of these facts, who really wants to negotiate, and the answer was “that should be asked of Hamas.”
Perez believes that on the military level, “Israel’s security and the prevention of a future attack depends on the destruction of Hamas and all its leadership and protecting the Philadelphia corridor and also Hezbollah to the north.” The Philadelphia Route It is a narrow strip of land 14 kilometers long that separates Gaza and Egypt.
Leave allies
The military analyst added that Israel would eventually be willing to let allies create a buffer zone. as the United Nations does in other countries, but in this case it considers that they should not be the Blue Helmets but rather allies in the Philadelphia corridor, he emphasized.
“Taking away the power of resupply from any guerrilla in Gaza and controlling the distribution of food will take away the power of any criminal organization in the future so that Israeli troops can leave Gaza.”
But the UN cannot lead a negotiation using armies “that often look the other way. Only allies of Israel, any other Arab organization or Arab army is like giving the guard of the henhouse to the Fox.”
Events abroad
The AFP agency reported that the police killed a man suspected of opening fire near the Israeli consulate in Munich. The shooting took place on September 5, when the 1972 hostage taking in which eleven Israeli athletes died in that German city was commemorated, to which Octavio Pérez said that these events will continue to occur because “It is part of the program to lead the world to instability and to seek support for the anti-Semitic cause”
“Students at American universities trample on Jewish studentsthe demonstrations around the world, that is funded and supported to spread that anti-Semitic awareness, concluded Pérez.”
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