Hamas: Hostages Will Only Be Released After Israel Withdraws

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Facts

  • Top Hamas official Khalil Hayya confirmed on Friday that the group's leader, Yahya Sinwar, was killed by Israeli forces. Hayya continued that Hamas will only release the hostages taken on Oct. 7 last year if there is a complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from the strip.[1]
  • Meanwhile, fighting in and around Jabalia and its refugee camp in northern Gaza continued on Friday, with Israel sending additional troops to the area. Residents said that Israeli tanks reached the center of the camp and reported heavy bombardment. Israel said the operation aimed to prevent Hamas from regrouping in the area.[2]
  • Israel said it had allowed around 30 trucks carrying food, water, medical supplies, and shelter equipment to enter northern Gaza on Friday. However, Hamas and health officials in the strip said the aid has yet to reach the areas where it's needed the most, such as Jabalia, Beit Hanoun, and Beit Lahiya.[2]
  • A report released by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification on Thursday found that 'the risk of Famine persists across the whole Gaza Strip,' with around 1.84M Palestinians experiencing high levels of acute food insecurity.[3]
  • According to the report, the war has seen 70% of Gaza's crop fields destroyed, humanitarian operations obstructed, public health services demolished, and accessible water and sanitation systems compromised. Almost 2M of Gaza's population has been displaced, living in makeshift tents.[4]
  • Citing an anonymous Israeli official, the Times of Israel reported that the government is considering using private companies to distribute aid in northern Gaza to help sideline Hamas. The official added that American companies would be used with the hope that Arab countries would also help with the initiative.[5]

Sources: [1]Al Jazeera, [2]Reuters, [3]Ipcinfo, [4]USA Today and [5]Timesofisrael.

Narratives

  • Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by CNN. Sinwar's death will be a good opportunity to restart negotiations and work toward a cease-fire that ends this war. US officials have spent months frustrated with the lack of progress in Doha and Cairo, but now, though things are still uncertain, there is a real chance that peace can come at last.
  • Pro-Israel narrative, as provided by Jerusalem Post. Though Yahya Sinwar and other terrorist leaders are now dead, Israel must still think carefully about how to proceed. Though the primary mastermind behind Hamas' Oct. 7 massacres is gone, Israel is still facing terrorist threats on every front. Israel is winning, but the war is not over quite yet.
  • Pro-Palestine narrative, as provided by +972 Magazine. Israel's true goal in northern Gaza is to starve and exterminate the civilian population so that the region is never inhabited by Palestinians again. Israeli politicians and military officials have been quite clear about the country's genocidal goals, yet the media continues to ignore their horrifying ambitions. This is a campaign of mass extermination that has received the full backing of the US.