Qassam Brigades Requests Shovels, Israel Prefers Corpses for Leverage
The Qassam Brigades, Hamas's military wing, reportedly asked international mediators and the ICRC for equipment and personnel to locate captives—some possibly dead under rubble from Israeli bombardment ( The New Arab ). This 'good faith' gesture, however, is met with the deafening silence of an Israeli strategy that seems to prioritize leverage over recovery. While Israel demands the return of all
captives, it carpet-bombs the very areas they're held, as evidenced by consistent reports from UN agencies and human rights groups of widespread destruction across Gaza. One might wonder at the timing: Hamas wants to find bodies, yet the Israeli government, particularly under Netanyahu's hardline coalition, benefits politically from a prolonged crisis, fueling public anger and justifying its
military campaign. The calculated destruction of infrastructure, including hospitals and residential buildings—all while claiming to target 'terrorists'—makes recovering bodies, Israeli or Palestinian, nearly impossible. How convenient for those who prefer martyrs over negotiators, especially when it shields them from accountability and potentially shifts blame.