Politic?: Hamas's Excruciating Game of Death and Sadistic Torture

"[Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh learned from personal imprisonment and subsequent release that] hostage diplomacy works."
"[Haniyeh's strategy is to] leverage hostages to extort concessions from Israel."
He's employing ISIS tactics in releasing videos and implicitly threatening to execute hostages if his demands are not met."
"Thus far, hostages have been a massive miscalculation by Hamas, as Israel has not relented and adheres to the common practice of not giving in to hostage diplomacy, because that ends up putting more citizens at risk of being kidnapped."
Canadian military academic Christian Leuprecht

"[The Hamas video releases represent] psychological warfare."
"It testifies to Hamas cruelty toward innocent, very elderly civilians who are in need of medical care."
"The world must act in order to deliver medical aid and check on the state of the hostages."
IDF spokesperson

The world watched in horror as a video emerged of Noa Argamani, 26, sitting on the back of a motorbike as she screamed 'Don't kill me' to the men surrounding her during Hamas's attacks on Israel on October 7 killing 340 Israelis at the Nova Music Festival

The world has concerned itself over the welfare of Palestinians in Gaza resulting from Israel's response to the barbarism enacted by Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and ordinary Palestinian citizens who flooded by their thousands into southern Israel, breaching the separation wall, destroying outpost lookouts, killing the female detachment on duty, and going on to slaughter over 1,400 civilian Israeli children, women, the elderly and others. The Red Cross is usually tasked with delivering humanitarian and medical aid, but its focus has been Palestinian civilians not the Israeli hostages.

Hamas continues to demonstrate its proficiency in achieving new lows in savagely vile actions. Its video release of a "teaser" showing three of the Israelis among the 136 still held by them and by PIJ and ordinary Palestinian civilians was a deliberate act of sadism. In the video were Noa Argamani, 26, Yossi Sharabi, 53, and Itai Svirsky, 38, the first visions of the three their families have seen since they were abducted on October 7. The three hostages are shown in the video speaking to the camera.

Hamas released a video showing hostage Noa Argamani explaining how Yossi Sharabi and Itai Svirski were killed in captivity

Urging Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end the war and bring them home, it's clear they are all under duress, suffering and fearful, repeating a script given to them by their captors, with no option but to behave as instructed. They also state the conditions they are living through are difficult. They lack food and water and state that they are being held in places vulnerable to Israeli air strikes against Hamas assets; their interminable tunnel system, control centers, commandeered civilian structures.

When the agonized video finally concludes there is a display of two lifeless bodies, that of Sharabi and Svirsky. Argamani speaks to the camera, that separate airstrikes killed her two companions, and she was herself injured on her head and body by shrapnel, pleading for Israel to bring all the hostages home. The first video was released Sunday evening with the promise that Hamas was prepared to deliver a follow-up the next day.

Itai Svirski killed while being held captive by Hamas

The Hamas chief Haniyeh is chairman of the political bureau of Hamas. His safe place of residence is Qatar; he has amassed a personal fortune of over $4 billion. From his safe distance he instructs his lieutenants how to proceed in their dedication to destroying Israel. Hostage videos are favourite vehicles for both ISIS and Hamas to draw attention, create fear and to exert pressure on authorities. Hostage videos are used for the purpose of threatening, demanding ransoms, or making political statements.

According to the latest exchanges between Hamas and Israeli officials, the number of hostages still held in Gaza is unacknowledged because Hamas claims it has lost track, adding that many of the hostages had been victimized by Israeli air strikes, to account for the dead that Hamas might never wish to reveal its responsibility for. The Sunday video release coincided with the 100th day of the invasion of Gaza. The Hamas flair for drama and death displays is second to none.