CAIRO, Aug 15 (Reuters) - A Hamas guard who killed an Israeli hostage acted "in revenge" and against instructions after he heard news that his two children had been killed in an Israeli strike, a spokesperson for the group's armed wing said on Thursday.
"The (Hamas) soldier assigned as a guard acted in a retaliatory manner, against instructions, after he received information that his two children were martyred in one of the massacres conducted by the enemy," Abu Ubaida said on Telegram.
"The incident doesn't represent our ethics and the instructions of our religion in dealing with captives. We will reinforce the instructions," he added.
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Yes but also no. The current conditions are largely the same but that is because no deal has yet been made.
With the hostages Hamas can demand things from a deal. Like the IDF permanently withdrawing from Gaza and releasing their Palestinian hostages. Without hostages there would be no way for Hamas to have any demands.
Hamas still holding the hostages is also physical hard evidence for the world to see how incapable the IDF is in achieving its stated objective of retrieving the hostages.
Furthermore the reason Israelis are demonstrating for a ceasefire is because of the hostages. It causes division and turmoil within Israel.
The hostages are the leverage Hamas have in a deal. Without them they have no leverage.
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Hannibal Directive
You have not kept up to date on Israel's statements on this. Israel wasn't even willing to commit to continuing the cease-fire after the hostages were released, let alone pull out for good.