Sunday, February 2, 2025

Still ruling in Gaza: How Hamas uses hostage releases to exert control - analysis


Hamas is trying to show during the hostage exchanges the control it exerts over the Gaza Strip despite the pummeling it has received from the IDF in the almost year and a half that has elapsed since the October 7 attack that started the war.

The hostage releases have now become normalized. When they began on January 19, it was not clear how Hamas would organize the handovers.


The first exchange in this round in which hostages Romi Gonen, Emily Damari, and Doron Steinbrecher were released was done in an open lot behind some destroyed buildings. There was a crowd of hundreds who pushed around the Red Cross vehicles. Hamas appeared to try to showcase that it was in control, but the first exchange was not well organized by the terrorist organization.  (Read More)