I’m not really sure what other outcome Hamas thought there would be when they launched their Oct. 7 attacks and then are continuing to hold hostages. Widespread killing and sexual violence launched from Gaza against Israel, killing ~1,400? Whether or not you agree with Israel’s actions since then, it should’ve been apparent to anybody that Israel was going to retaliate in a major way, they shoot kids who throw stones at them, like they weren’t going to respond with a massively disproportionate show of force. I guess they wanted to spark a greater war against Israel in the Middle East, that seems like the only other outcome that “makes sense”, but does the rest of the Middle East care that much about the Palestinians to get into another war with Israel? It sucks for the people caught in the middle just trying to live their lives.
Hamas didn’t have a plan beyond “shake the hornets nest and hope the other side puts us in a better position after the rubble is cleared.” They just wanted to cause a disturbance that would put them on the world stage again.
Gambling that Arab states actually give a shit about Palestinians beyond what domestic political advantage they can provide is a bet that hasn’t generally paid off.
I think they’re still not entirely over the whole “Jordanian king visits Al-Aqsa and gets assassinated by Palestinian terrorist” business from way back in 1951.
Hamas took hostages so Israel would come after them of course. They’d been unsuccessful provoking them with small attacks prior.
Sadly for the Palestinians, Hamas is actively trying to use them as war propaganda by forcing a war and as much suffering as possible. Why? To isolate Israel and soften it up for the larger attack.
I’m not really sure what other outcome Hamas thought there would be when they launched their Oct. 7 attacks and then are continuing to hold hostages. Widespread killing and sexual violence launched from Gaza against Israel, killing ~1,400? Whether or not you agree with Israel’s actions since then, it should’ve been apparent to anybody that Israel was going to retaliate in a major way, they shoot kids who throw stones at them, like they weren’t going to respond with a massively disproportionate show of force. I guess they wanted to spark a greater war against Israel in the Middle East, that seems like the only other outcome that “makes sense”, but does the rest of the Middle East care that much about the Palestinians to get into another war with Israel? It sucks for the people caught in the middle just trying to live their lives.
Hamas didn’t have a plan beyond “shake the hornets nest and hope the other side puts us in a better position after the rubble is cleared.” They just wanted to cause a disturbance that would put them on the world stage again.
Gambling that Arab states actually give a shit about Palestinians beyond what domestic political advantage they can provide is a bet that hasn’t generally paid off.
I think they’re still not entirely over the whole “Jordanian king visits Al-Aqsa and gets assassinated by Palestinian terrorist” business from way back in 1951.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdullah_I_of_Jordan#Assassination
Hamas took hostages so Israel would come after them of course. They’d been unsuccessful provoking them with small attacks prior.
Sadly for the Palestinians, Hamas is actively trying to use them as war propaganda by forcing a war and as much suffering as possible. Why? To isolate Israel and soften it up for the larger attack.
Hamas took hostages because hostages are one of the few ways they can secure concessions from Israel. This is the status quo Israel created in 2006.