Playing With Them

We clearly see in a report from The Media Line that Hamas is continuing to play mind and emotional games with Israelis:

Hours before Israeli protestors gathered for their weekly anti-government demonstration, Hamas dropped a promo of a hostage video it intended to release on the Telegram social media and messaging platform.

“Time is running out…” the ominous text on the screen appeared, with a pixelated face of an Israeli hostage sobbing in the background. Later, as thousands of Israelis were already protesting, the full four-minute harrowing video of Elkana Bohbot was posted on Telegram.

The hostage went on to tear at Israeli hearts and made a political statement as well:

In the video, Bohbot was conducting a mock phone call with his wife. He said he was afraid to die, begging to see his 4-year-old son.

“I have no more energy,” he sobbed. “I have heard that they are signing petitions to stop the war and release us.” The frail and distraught Bohbot was referring to the recent wave of contentious petitions signed by Israeli military reservists and former senior officers calling for a hostage deal and an end to the war.

One of the most heated debates in Israeli history is now at its peak. Military service, once considered a consensual topic, has become a tool in the debate on the fate of the hostages.

One relative of a hostage knows exactly what the terrorists are doing:

“The hostages are being used as part of the demonstrations to topple the government,” Tal Gilboa, whose nephew Guy Dalal is being held by Hamas after attending the Nova music festival near the Gaza border, told The Media Line. “No one asked for our permission, and every single demonstration and petition gives Hamas the power and the pleasure to see Israeli society crumbling from within.”

While Gilboa has his view, another hostage relative sees things another way:

But for Vicky Cohen, the mother of Nimrod Cohen, a soldier also being held by Hamas for the past 562 days, the demonstrations are a source of strength.

“I would demonstrate with or without these videos,” she told The Media Line. “The struggle is the same struggle, but the videos have a greater impact on the public. This struggle is a legitimate one. Our government has abandoned the hostages, and we cannot allow for this reality to happen.”

Signs Of Life

Sometimes other hostage families get hope from details gleaned from videos of others being held:

On Sunday, just hours after Bohbot’s heartbreaking appeal, relatives of hostages gathered along the Gaza border to call out to their loved ones. Vicky was one of those at the border. The first sign of life she received from her son was when a video of other hostages was released and they recognized Nimrod’s tattoo in the video, although his face was not shown.

“It was horrifying to see,” Cohen said. “I was both excited to get a glimpse but also overwhelmed with immense concern for his well-being. Seeing these videos of them begging for their lives is just heartbreaking.”

Polls seem to indicate that Hamas and other terrorist organizations may be getting exactly what they want, but not everyone is fooled because Hamas has a history of reneging on deals:

According to polls conducted by the Israel Democracy Institute throughout the war, a steady increase in support for a deal that would see the end of the war and the release of the hostages occurred, the longer the war lasted. It is important to note that it is unclear whether Hamas would agree to release every single hostage, as they have proven to be not only an asset but an insurance policy for its survival and ability to pressure Israel.

Cohen sees polls like this and the support from helping buttress their hopes:

“We need the public, it strengthens us, and it would be very hard to undertake this struggle alone,” said Cohen.

An expert in psychological warfare sees what Cohen and others say and recognizes how these terrorists are getting exactly what they want from having these hostages:

The sentiment is not shared by all, and it is a rift that, according to experts, Hamas is looking to engorge.

“Hamas recognizes the current discourse and is leveraging it,” Yaniv Levyatan, PhD., an expert in information warfare, told The Media Line. “Psychological warfare targets the public and not the government, in order to create pressure from the ground up.”

Gilboa doesn’t want Hamas to get anymore help from the statements from these protests:

“If you are so worried about the hostages – shut up!” said Gilboa. “Our greatest personal disaster has become everyone’s property. We are so scared for the fate of our loved ones; any word could harm them. It has nothing to do with political opinions – just shut up!”

That is a pretty strong statement, but it makes sense, although I doubt it will resonate with the public.

They Are Skilled

Hamas and really all these terrorists have had years and years of taking hostages and using them as an integral piece of their mind games:

Hamas skillfully continues to employ psychological warfare aimed at the Israeli public, as part of its ongoing war against the Jewish state.

In this recent video the hostage was most likely forced to make appeals to even an international audience:

Bohbot is one of the 59 hostages that remain in the hands of Hamas in the Gaza Strip. At least 35 of them are believed to be dead. Negotiations to secure the release of at least some of the living hostages appear to be stalled. Efforts by Steve Witkoff, the American Special Envoy to the Middle East, have so far failed. Staged and scripted, part of Bohbot’s appeal was in English, aimed at attracting international attention. He urged a friend to take his wife to the White House to appeal to US President Donald Trump.

Another scholar on these tactics sees how the terrorists planned this from the very start. And it actually signals what Hamas needs and where they are weakening:

“The script is written in advance and has a goal,” Dr. Ron Schleifer, a researcher on psychological warfare from the School of Communication at Ariel University, told The Media Line. “From this, one can deduce what messages they want to convey, both in the text and the subtext. If they ask to stop the bombings or renew humanitarian aid, we can conclude what is harming Hamas.”

Schleifer sees how the ebb and flow of this war is playing out:

“What we are seeing is basically a one-sided correspondence with very precise messaging both to the public and to the Israeli government,” said Schleifer, also the author of ‘Post psychological warfare.’ “Hamas carefully watches the developments in Israel and uses psychological warfare in synchronization with physical warfare. Currently, their ability to engage in physical warfare is under duress, so they are increasing their psychological warfare.”

Another video is also being used to affect public opinions to get what they want. And Gilboa tells us how simple things really are:

Last week, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad also released a video, which was the first sign of life from another hostage, Rom Braslavski.

“It’s really not that complicated,” said Gilboa. “Hamas makes requests, and the Israeli public meets the demands. Then Hamas hunkers down in its position.”

Two things we need to know is that Hamas and other terrorists don’t see the hostages as humans, but as pawns in their chess game. They serve a purpose and when that purpose no longer exists they will kill them. And they will never release all the living hostages even if they are down to one. Never. As long as they have hostages they can survive in their minds. And past negotiations prove that thinking. Right now, if Israel can get a deal for even half of the remaining captives they will take it, but Prime Minister Netanyahu is not a newcomer to these tactics and if Hamas is stalling again, he will use other means to end the war and rescue the hostages. As we pray for Israel we need to ask God to change hearts and minds and to solidify Israelis in unity against Hamas.