A source within Israeli security agencies has suggested that Hamas is attempting to manipulate the current fragile situation and portray kidnapped individuals as being in the hands of other factions in the Gaza Strip, with the aim of preventing the return of Israeli mothers and infants.
"Hamas controls the Gaza Strip. They are the ones responsible for it," the source explained to Walla!, "attempts to shift responsibility and conceal information, as revealed last week when they separated the infant from her mother at the last moment, will not advance negotiations for the release of the kidnapped."
Efforts have been made to hold intermediaries accountable
According to the source, efforts have been made to hold the intermediaries accountable for the principles that both sides committed to at the beginning of the negotiations. "Otherwise, Hamas will hear renewed gunfire," they warned. The security source also cautioned against disinformation spread by Hamas on social media, describing it as "cunning and ruthless."
The source called on the Israeli public "to exercise patience and listen to official information regarding the release of the kidnapped" and explained that "any such distribution only serves Hamas. We must not fall into the trap of the psychological warfare they are trying to wage against Israel and the intermediaries."
In addition, IDF spokesperson in Arabic, Avichay Adraee, tweeted on Monday that "Hamas treats some of the kidnapped Israelis [children and infants] as a treasure, and in some situations, they hand them over to other terror organizations in the Gaza Strip."
Adraee highlighted the cruelty of the Hamas terrorist organization and cited the Bibas family from Kibbutz Nir Oz as an example: "The infants with red hair, the 'Gingers,' were kidnapped in the Nir Oz area by one of Hamas's operatives and are currently held in the Khan Yunis region by one of the Palestinian factions."