In a chilling development reported by The New York Times, Hamas terrorist leaders have reportedly given standing orders to operatives holding hostages: if they believe Israeli forces are approaching, their first action should be to shoot the captives. This information, sourced from Israeli officials, adds a harrowing dimension to the ongoing conflict.
Two days following the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) rescue of four hostages from Nuseirat in central Gaza, the newspaper reported on the potential fate of other captives. If some hostages were killed on Saturday, as claimed by Hamas, it might have been at the hands of the terrorists themselves, rather than due to an Israeli airstrike. The IDF has categorically denied Hamas’s claim that three hostages were killed by Israeli airstrikes, emphasizing the terrorists’ responsibility.
Tactical Decisions in Rescue Operations
The rescue operation on Saturday involved two buildings where the hostages were held, roughly 200 meters apart. Security forces decided to simultaneously target both locations to prevent Hamas from executing the hostages upon recognizing the rescue attempt at the other site.
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The New York Times also highlighted the significant contributions of U.S. forces to the hostage-rescue efforts, starting almost immediately after Hamas’s massacre in southern Israel on October 7. American aircraft have been instrumental in gathering intelligence over Gaza, supplementing Israeli efforts with insights that local drones might have missed. According to U.S. officials, at least six MQ-9 Reaper drones operated by Special Operations forces have been conducting missions to detect signs of life.
The war in Gaza intensified following the October 7 attack, which saw approximately 3,000 Hamas terrorists cross into southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. Among the hostages, 116 abducted on October 7 are believed to remain in Gaza, with many presumed dead. Following a week-long truce in late November, 105 civilians were released, in addition to four earlier releases. So far, Israeli troops have rescued seven hostages alive and recovered the bodies of 19, including three mistakenly killed by the military.
Israel continues to use ground-based sensors to map out Hamas’s extensive tunnel network beneath Gaza. These sensors complement aircraft with infrared radar capable of detecting heat signatures from individuals entering or exiting tunnel entrances on the surface.
Intelligence sharing between the U.S. and Israel has expanded, focusing not only on hostage recovery but also on identifying patterns that could inform the timing of future rescue operations. Current efforts include understanding how long Hamas holds captives in one location before moving them.
Hostages as Human Shields
A small group of hostages is believed to be held near Yahya Sinwar, Hamas’s leader in Gaza, effectively using them as human shields to complicate Israeli efforts to target him. Sinwar is reportedly hiding in the vast tunnel network beneath Khan Younis.
Initially, intelligence suggested that most hostages were kept in tunnels. However, it has since been recognized that keeping hostages in the apartments of Hamas supporters is more manageable for the terrorists. Following the successful rescue operation on Saturday, it is expected that Hamas will move more hostages into tunnels, potentially reducing the chances of further aboveground rescue raids.
On Saturday, Israeli commandos rescued Noa Argamani, 26, Almog Meir Jan, 21, Andrey Kozlov, 27, and Shlomi Ziv, 40, from two Hamas-controlled buildings in Nuseirat. They had been abducted from the Supernova music festival near Kibbutz Re’im on October 7. Tragically, a rescue team commander was fatally wounded during the operation.
