Recent reports indicate that Hamas has once again made a hostage deal impossible. This is because it continues to believe it is winning the war. This would seem impossible, given that the IDF has operated in Gaza for 14 months and cleared many areas of Hamas. However, the terrorist group is still in control of central Gaza, and this gives it leverage over Israel in relation to the various hostage talks.
There are two reasons for this. The first is that Hamas believes Israel will not enter central Gaza; the second is that it is under the impression that it can continue to run this area as a kind of ministate.
Central Gaza consists of four urban areas: Nuseirat, the Maghazi refugee camp, Bureij, and Deir el-Balah. It is a swath of territory south of the IDF-controlled Netzarim corridor. It borders the Mawasi humanitarian area and Khan Yunis.
This provides Hamas an easy way to control aid going into Mawasi and to infiltrate back into Khan Yunis and threaten Rafah. The terrorist group uses the central camps as its main base of operations.
Early in the war, it was estimated that Hamas had 24 battalions of fighters in Gaza. The IDF has assessed over the last year that many of these battalions were defeated. However, Hamas has reconstituted some of them.
The most prominent example of this was Jabalya. Hamas’s units there were supposed to have been defeated in the first months of the war. Yet, when the IDF went back into the area in early October, they found thousands of Hamas terrorists. In fact, the Hamas cells in Beit Hanun and other areas of northern Gaza continue to be active, killing IDF soldiers.
Hamas continues to control Gaza City itself, as well as neighborhoods such as Durraj, Tuffah, Sheikh Radwan, and parts of the Shati refugee camp.
The terrorist organization has not been defeated in these areas or central Gaza. Also, in many of them, it has not been put under military pressure.
Hamas thrives, hiding in the rubble and in various buildings and exploiting hospitals. This is why the IDF once again had to clear areas near the Kamal Adwan Hospital and the Indonesia Hospital in northern Gaza.
No matter how often the IDF comes and goes, the enemy returns.
The clear problem in central Gaza
IN CENTRAL Gaza, the problem is clear. Hamas uses this as an area to base its operations. It likely believes the IDF does not want to enter the area for fear Hamas will kill hostages.
However, Hamas has already killed many hostages. The fact is that leaving them in the hands of Hamas endangers them as much as trying to rescue them or pressuring Hamas to have them released.
Leaving people for years in the hands of the enemy is unacceptable. There are severe repercussions health-wise. Former Hamas hostage Hannah Katzir died this week at the age of 78. Reports said her health declined when she was held hostage.
This is an example of why it is not better to leave people in the hands of Hamas, allowing it to drag out the deal talks forever.
Even before the October 7 massacre, Hamas was holding four hostages in Gaza – two live Israelis and the bodies of two soldiers. The terrorist group also held Gilad Schalit captive for five years.
It is clear in retrospect that the policy of always leaving hostages in Gaza for years does not work. This empowers Hamas. The terrorist organization doesn’t care about the health of the hostages. Neither does the international community; none of the major NGOs involved in health in Gaza have ever sought to visit them.
Israel used to understand that it was important to free people quickly. The 1976 Entebbe rescue operation showcases that the Jewish state didn’t choose to leave hostages in Uganda for years. Instead, it went and rescued them.
In the past, this was Israel’s policy. Enemies were not allowed to take Israelis hostage and then relax for years. They were eliminated and neutralized.
But now, Hamas feels empowered in central Gaza because it does not feel military pressure there. At the talks in Cairo and Doha, it feels it can dictate to Israel. Hamas has done this for a year.
It has refused to supply even a list of hostages during the negotiations. This should have been the first thing supplied.
One cannot negotiate with a group that refuses to even hand over a list and wants to use this as part of the process of traumatizing Israel and controlling the process.
The threat from central Gaza is also a military and terror threat.
An IDF soldier from the 551st Brigade that controls the Netzarim corridor was killed in combat in central Gaza, the IDF said on Thursday.
Hamas is rebuilding terrorist infrastructure in areas such as Nuseirat. It will continue to try to fire rockets and mortars from these areas.
The group will construct IEDs (improvised explosive devices) from areas it controls in northern Gaza. Hamas has done this before and recovered many times.
It is true that Israeli control of Netzarim and Rafah will somewhat weaken Hamas and “mow the grass” to some extent.
Still, Hamas was able to gain power in Gaza decades ago, even when the IDF controlled Gaza up until 2005. Hamas laid the foundations for running Gaza as a terrorist empire back then. It is important to comprehend this in order to understand that removing Hamas from central Gaza is key to defeating the group.