Let’s assume, for the purposes of discussion, that you are a bank robber. You have stolen something valuable, but it’s not easily convertible to cash. So, you need to hide it somewhere safe. You duly make your selection and wait.

From that point, you would take all reasonable measures to keep the loot safe. If, for example, you thought your loot might be discovered or be at risk from an advancing front in a war, you would probably move it somewhere else. Whatever might happen, you would do your utmost not to lose track of it. In short, there’s no way – on the balance of reasonable possibilities – that you wouldn’t know exactly where your loot is.

Hold that thought.

Today’s Times of Israel had an article with the subtitle text including this:

Hamas claims it returned all dead hostages it could find…

However, in the body of the article, it says this:

Hamas transferred two caskets containing the remains of two slain Israeli hostages, Inbar Haiman and Muhammad el-Atrash, on Wednesday night, as it claimed to have recovered the bodies of all the deceased captives “that it was able to reach.”

There is a difference between being able to find the bodies and being able to reach the bodies. The latter is probably much more likely, though even then I have doubts.

Remember Amalek Hamas

My starting point is that Hamas exists for three purposes. The first is to kill Jews. The second is to destroy Israel. The third is to expand and export their extremist, fundamentalist, Islamic doctrine.

Next up, go back to that thought I asked you to hold on to: bank robbers know where their loot is. As sick as it is, each of the hostages had a value for Hamas whether they started off dead or not. If they weren’t dead at the outset, Hamas will probably have tried to keep them alive because they were much more valuable in that state. Similarly, if they did risk them as human shields, it’s likely this will have been for use by high-ranking Hamas personnel. Therefore, I believe that Hamas knows exactly where all the bodies are. It may be that some of the bodies are under rubble, but I doubt this.

You will have seen the many Hamas operatives who surfaced after the fighting stopped. Where have they been hiding? At least one hostage who returned reported seeing dead hostages in the tunnels. It would be reasonable to expect Hamas would hide their loot in the tunnels, too.

But even if they are under rubble, Hamas knows where. So, what are Hamas playing at?

• Given Hamas’ raison d’être, anything that causes Jews pain gives them pleasure. Holding onto the bodies of our hostages causes us much pain.
• On the face of it, Hamas’ only leverage might be holding onto the bodies of our hostages. They might construct a plausible excuse – it’s the rubble, it’s the rubble – but only the gullible or the bigoted would unquestioningly accept this.
• Regrettably, there are credible sources for the abuse our hostages suffered. It is therefore possible, that some of those bodies not yet returned have been retained because the evidence of abuse would be quickly established. The longer the bodies deteriorate, the more difficult it will be to establish cause of death and whether there was abuse and torture. (Yes, it makes me sick, too.)

If Israel holds back aid or tries to exert other direct pressure on Hamas to secure the return of the bodies of our hostages, Israel will – as usual – be vilified. I question the likely effect of such pressure. What might work is offering cash rewards for the return of hostage bodies, or even information about their location. I am aware that cash was offered for information about hostage locations before and it seemed to produce no result. Now the situation is different. Hamas may still be strong, but its reach is less, its territory is smaller, and it is no longer immune to external pressure from its sponsors.

Perhaps more importantly (or practically) if all that remains of Israelis in Gaza are the bodies of hostages, the restart of an Israeli offensive would not be hampered by having to avoid friendly-fire casualties. That may, ultimately, be the only way to secure the return of the last hostages. Israel must continue to show resolve in the face of Hamas’ obstinacy.

Right now, I wouldn’t like to be a Gazan. Hamas continue to prove they care not for their people. And yet there are many useful idiots in the West who seem to care, too much, for Hamas. Well, they may all be about to discover that the FO part of FAFO is not yet complete.