Georges Malbrunot, a journalist at Le Figaro and a specialist on the Middle East, believes that Hamas will “use the hostages in a rather cynical way” to ensure that Israel slows down its military operation. The country gave residents of the northern Gaza Strip 24 hours to evacuate.
Tensions are rising again six days after Hamas terrorists attacked Israel. The Israeli army ordered the evacuation of the northern Gaza Strip within 24 hours. While the UN worried about “devastating humanitarian consequences”, the question of the fate of the hostages raises questions.
“The security of the hostages does not seem to me to be Israel’s priority today because we have found ourselves in a situation that is unparalleled, namely that Hamas is holding 150,” Georges Malbrunot, the great reporter of Le Figaro on BFMTV, explained this Friday.
“A dead hostage no longer has any value”
According to the Quai d’Orsay, among those kidnapped last Saturday were 17 French people, including several children. Relatives of the victims organized a news conference in Tel Aviv on Thursday, calling on France to obtain proof of life and then release them.
“Unfortunately, when you are hostages, there is a golden rule: a dead hostage no longer has any value,” the Middle East specialist, who was himself a former hostage in Iraq in the 2000s, further clarified.
“So if we kill you, we will not regain any money, political benefits or notoriety. But there are 150 of them, so they’re going to use these hostages in a pretty cynical way to make sure Israel slows down its military operation,” the journalist decoded.
“Hamas can and will blackmail”
Emmanuel Macron assured in a speech on Thursday evening that France was doing “everything possible”. to release its nationals held hostage and “return them safely to their homes.” The majority of them are French-Israeli citizens.
“Since the hostages are numerous, (Hamas) can and will engage in this blackmail. She can execute them, parade the Israeli soldiers who kidnapped them, make them beg Benjamin Netanyahu not to advance,” he said. Summary Georges Malbrunot.
“Negotiation channels” have been established between France, Emmanuel Macron further argued on Thursday evening, without giving further details. The head of state did not specify whether Germany had officially asked Qatar to play an intermediary role with its own hostages.
Hamas claims that 13 hostages “including foreigners” were killed by Israeli strikes, without any possibility of verifying this figure for the media.