GNITN - Special Edition

Israel At War – Day 250

Hamas Is Cruel

Hamas Says No

According to many reports, Hamas made substantial changes to the proposal advocated by the United States as we read in an article from The Jerusalem Post. The article begins with the basics:

Hamas wants written guarantees from the United States for a permanent ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip in order to sign off on a US-backed truce proposal, two Egyptian security sources said.

Mediators Qatar and Egypt said Hamas had responded on Tuesday to the phased ceasefire plan for an end to the eight-month war between Israel and the Palestinian terrorist group, without giving details.

The plan was made public at the end of May by US President Joe Biden. It includes the gradual release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza and pullback of Israeli forces over two phases, as well as the freeing of Palestinian prisoners, with the reconstruction of Gaza and return of the remains of deceased hostages in a third phase.

The United States has said Israel accepted the proposal, but Israel has not publicly stated this.

Apparently the devil is in those details because a deal isn’t in place after the terrorists responded:

The Egyptian sources and a third source with knowledge of the talks said Hamas had concerns that the current proposal does not provide explicit guarantees over the transition from the first phase of the plan, which includes a six-week truce and the release of some hostages, to the second phase, which includes a permanent ceasefire and Israeli withdrawal.

The Egyptian sources said Hamas would only accept the plan if the guarantees were in place, and Egypt was in contact with the US about the demand.

Hamas wants guarantees that really help them live to see another day:

"Hamas wants reassurances of an automatic transition from one phase to another as per the agreement laid out by President Biden," the third source said.

Negotiations with options isn’t what they will accept but they are representing it differently to make themselves look better:

Hamas said on Tuesday that its "positive" response to the proposal opened a "wide pathway" to reach an agreement.

As we should have expected, Israel doesn’t see it that way at all:

But an Israeli official speaking on condition of anonymity said Hamas had "changed all of the main and most meaningful parameters," characterizing the group's response as a rejection of Biden's proposal for a hostage release.

One non-Israeli official briefed on the matter, who also declined to be identified, said that in its response, Hamas had proposed a new timeline for a permanent ceasefire with Israel and withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, including Rafah.

Without seeing the actual document nothing is certain, but Hamas doesn’t like some people involved.

Blinken Is Part Of The Problem

In a report from The Times Of Israel a Hamas official blames US Secretary Of State Antony Blinken for the stalemate of negotiations:

Hamas official Osama Hamdan denies that the terror group had put forward new ideas for the US-backed proposal for a ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza.

Hamdan, speaking to the pan-Arab Al-Araby TV, also says that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was “part of the problem, not the solution” in the Gaza conflict.

Earlier, Blinken said that Hamas had suggested numerous changes, some unworkable, to the Gaza ceasefire proposal, though he also said mediators remained determined to close the gaps.

We turn to a report from i24news.tv to hear from Blinken on the post war talks and about the Hamas response:

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that the United States and its partners will release plans for the post-war management of Gaza in the coming weeks.

Speaking at a press conference in Doha with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Blinken emphasized the urgency of "day after" planning to ensure a lasting end to the conflict.

"In the coming weeks, we will put forward proposals for key elements of the day-after — planning that includes concrete ideas for how to manage governance, security, reconstruction," Blinken said. He highlighted that although Hamas's actions will influence the war's continuation, they should not dictate the region's future.

Blinken did not specify that Israel must present these plans. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has resisted calls for such planning, arguing it is futile while Hamas remains in power. Meanwhile, the U.S. has collaborated with Arab nations to advance a post-war vision for Gaza.

The report then addressed Blinken’s criticism of Hamas:

Blinken also criticized Hamas's response to Israel's hostage deal proposal, noting that the group suggested numerous changes, many of which were unworkable. “Hamas has proposed numerous changes to the proposal that was on the table… Some of the changes are workable, some are not,” Blinken said.

Mr. Blinken pointed out that Hamas had a similar deal on the table and frittered it away with delays and changes Israel simply couldn’t accept. He then said the events after that rejection:

"As a result, the war — [which] Hamas started on October 7 with its barbaric attack on Israel and on Israeli civilians — will go on. More people will suffer, more Palestinians will suffer, more Israelis will suffer," Blinken stated. He reiterated the U.S.'s determination to continue efforts to finalize the deal with the help of partners like Qatar and Egypt.

It feels like the US is getting tired of the games Hamas is playing:

“It’s time for the haggling to stop and a ceasefire to start,” Blinken declared. He warned that if Hamas continues to reject the deal, it will become clear to the global community that the group is choosing to prolong the conflict.

“It may be that Hamas continues to say ‘no.’ [Then] I think it will be clear to everyone around the world, that it’s on them and that they will have made a choice to continue a war that they started,” he concluded.

Cruel Hostage Treatment

As the recently rescued hostages begin to talk the world is hearing how cruel Hamas treats their captives as we see in an article from The Jerusalem Post:

Details of an investigation into the daily lives of the freed hostages in the Gaza Strip, Almog Meir Jan, Andrey Kozlov, and Shlomi Ziv, were published in The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on Wednesday morning.

According to the report, the three rescued hostages lived in a dark room for six months, sleeping on small mattresses on the floor. Their only connection to the outside world was through guards who brought them food and would occasionally abuse them.

The former hostages shared that they could hear the Gazan family living downstairs, including their children, but they never met them. However, one day, when the family went out, they were allowed to go downstairs and use the kitchen.

Note they were hidden in the homes of Hamas sympathizers, some would call them innocent civilians. As we are seeing over and over again, few Gazans are truly innocent. Their treatment was not humane:

Punishments were given when the hostages did not adhere to their Hamas captors’ strict rules, including locking them in the bathroom, piling blankets on them during hot weather, and repeatedly threatening to kill them.

They survived by closeness to each other and received hope wherever they could find it:

Despite the hardships, the hostages learned Arabic, taught each other Hebrew or Russian, and kept track of time in journals. The three became close friends, and this bond helped them endure the hardships.

At times, their guards told them that no one cared about them or that no one would come to rescue them. However, on Meir’s birthday - the day of which he only knew because they kept a notebook to keep track of the dates - they were allowed to watch an Al Jazeera broadcast in Arabic. They saw a rally in Tel Aviv of the hostages' families, where he reported recognizing his face on the signs among the crowd.

“It made him feel he hadn’t been forgotten,” said Aviram Meir, Almog's uncle.

The accounts are not firsthand though and their experiences could take months to reveal:

The description of the hostages' time in Gaza was based on interviews with the hostages' relatives and with security and medical officials. With still much to uncover concerning their, and Noa Argamani’s, ordeal since their brutal kidnapping from the Nova Festival on October 7, Israeli security officials have asked the hostages and their relatives to keep the details of their captivity confidential.

A full account of the abuse suffered by other hostages who were earlier released emerged only more than a month after the fact, with descriptions of being held in underground tunnels and experiencing mental, physical, and sexual abuse.

History shows us that it will take time for their wounds to heal:

A doctor treating groups of hostages rescued or released since October 7 stated that despite initial positive assessments based on their cheerful appearance on television, they had endured "physical and mental torture."

The joy is most likely from the adrenaline rush of being rescued, per Dr. Itai Pesach, part of the team at Sheba Medical Center.

Finding More Hostages Will Be Harder

As noted earlier, people who support Hamas are aiding in hiding the hostages:

Security forces and the hostages identified Palestinian journalist Abdallah Al-Jamal, who lived in the apartment, as one of their captors.

Abdallah and his father, Ahmed Al-Jamal - a doctor and imam at a local mosque run by Hamas - were both killed during the operation. Neighbors said they always knew that Abdallah Al-Jamal was affiliated with Hamas.

With so many civilians willing to help, knowing who is innocent is very difficult and Hamas knows this and will continue to use this tactic with the remaining hostages. Still time is of the essence if those rescued are any indication of the toll being one takes on them:

The rescue operation was conducted under heavy Hamas fire in the crowded streets of Nuseirat in central Gaza. Pesach said it was likely that the hostages' weight changed during captivity due to fear, stress, and abuse. He noted that they showed signs of muscle atrophy and malnutrition and had lost the ability to perform certain activities.

“We’ve heard stories that are beyond anything you can imagine,” Pessach said." said Pesach. When the three male hostages arrived in Israel, they appeared well-groomed, with shaved heads and clean beards. Aviram Meir described his nephew's skin as pale. “They hadn’t seen the sun for eight months,” he said.

Hamas will probably change how they hide the remaining captives:

The successful rescue operation will force Hamas to change how it hides hostages, but it may not necessarily increase the severity of their conditions, said Yunes al-Zarai, a Palestinian political commentator told the WSJ.

“They will likely ensure that no more than one hostage is in the same location and will move hostages frequently to avoid detection. Their security apparatus will manage these arrangements,” Al-Zuraie said.

Information on how hostages are hidden makes a difficult situation even more difficult:

It is still unclear where the three male hostages were held before being transferred to the house where they were rescued. Argamani was held in houses with other hostages before reaching the final location. Other released hostages reported being held underground in tunnels.

It really is a matter of getting good and timely information:

According to knowledgeable sources, American intelligence operatives in Israel assist in locating hostages. The fact that the three male hostages were held together for such a long period without a rescue operation indicates the high level of intelligence required for a successful rescue, said Avi Kalo, former commander of hostage affairs in the Israeli military.

“They need to be verified with high standards of intelligence,” he said.