The jihadist terrorist organization Hamas does not know the location of some of the estimated 240 people abducted from Israel on October 7, complicating the group’s ability to negotiate for their release.
The whereabouts of the hostages not in direct Hamas custody remain unknown, and some reports suggest that organized crime syndicates in Gaza may be keeping individual hostages or families in captivity independent of direct Hamas control.
The Israeli government agreed to a four-day pause in its military activities in Gaza intended to prevent Hamas from staging a similar attack in the future in exchange for the release of several hostages. (Trending: Biden Shamefully Removes God From National Address)
According to Infobae, “According to sources familiar with the details of the agreement, there are hostages who fulfill the criteria established by Hamas to be freed, but are not in the hands of Hamas but rather detained in the Gaza Strip by other terrorist organizations, such as the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.”
The remaining hostages include people from all over the world, and some sources claim that Hamas does not have control of all the hostages.
Top Qatari diplomatAl-Thani said, “If they get additional women and children, there will be an extension.”
“We don’t yet have any clear information how many they can find because … one of the purposes [of the pause] is they [Hamas] will have time to search for the rest of the missing people,” he continued.
Hans-Jakob Schindler, senior director at The Counter Extremism Project explained, “There’s been a well-developed smuggling economy in Gaza for decades – long before Hamas took control – organized by networks of crime families. So it’s possible hostages are neither under the control of Hamas nor Islamic Jihad – but these crime organizations.”
The think tank director further revealed that Hamas wants “to use this hostage situation to their maximum benefit – because before 7 October, 70% of Gazans said they didn’t like Hamas and I don’t think it’s going to get much better.”
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