The Saudi newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat reports that terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip are considering a plan to transfer hostages to Gaza City, aiming to link their fate to the planned Israeli operation. Sources in Israel warn that the report is likely propaganda intended to provoke opposition to an Israeli Gaza incursion.
The report, published today (Sunday), states that terrorist groups in Gaza are debating moving hostages into Gaza City to tie their fate to Israel’s planned takeover of the Strip’s largest city.
Sources within the organizations told the newspaper that, while the plan is dangerous, it is being discussed at senior levels both inside and outside Gaza. “The goal is to increase pressure on Israel and link the fate of the living hostages to Netanyahu’s decisions,” the report noted.
The sources added that until now, the main consideration has been to preserve the hostages’ lives as much as possible, to use them as bargaining chips for prisoner exchanges and to secure a ceasefire.
However, against the backdrop of recent changes on the ground, a policy shift is being considered in which the hostages’ lives would be directly tied to the fate of Gaza residents.
The sources said this idea was not considered in previously occupied areas, claiming that “the current plan for Gaza City is the most dangerous of all.”
In Israel, officials assess that the newspaper report is most likely a propaganda move by Hamas, intended to provoke Israeli public opposition to any operation in Gaza and create political pressure on the government.