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.

  • Alsephina@lemmy.mlEnglish
    782·
    4 months ago

    Inevitable for some soldiers to go against instructions. Can’t imagine what it’s like to hear your two children have been killed…

    • jonne@infosec.pub
      911·
      4 months ago

      Hamas had a whole investigation and remediation in the space of days, in the middle of a war zone. Meanwhile we’re still waiting to find out who killed Shireen Abu Akleh over 2 years ago.

      • ???@lemmy.world
        144·
        4 months ago

        Keep in mind it’s always possible that they do this partly for PR. But at least they were transparent, even if they did in to look good. After all, next to Israel, anyone would look good.

        • geneva_convenience@lemmy.mlOP
          82·
          4 months ago

          No Israeli hostages so far suffered injuries from their guards while put in captivity. This incident was the exception.

          • ms.lane@lemmy.worldEnglish
            21·
            4 months ago

            Except for that were raped, but I guess since they’re Israeli, that doesn’t count?

          • ???@lemmy.world
            56·
            4 months ago

            I think there probably were some? Pretty sure some released hostages described abuse and sexual assault.

            I hate Hamas, as a Palestinian, but Hamas fighters are not demons… they are not angels either.

            • norimee@lemmy.world
              3·
              4 months ago

              Whereas there are a multitude of reliable sources citing Israelis forces torturing and raping Palestinian prisoners until death. Not isolated incidents, but a multitude of seperate situations.

              • ???@lemmy.world
                31·
                4 months ago

                I never denied that and nothing I said points to anything against that. Some Hamas fighters still raped and abused some captives. This is reality. These people also have the right to have their story heard because it’s just one part of the truth.

            • geneva_convenience@lemmy.mlOP
              41·
              4 months ago

              One started making claims of sexual assault 100 days after her release in the day 50 prisoner swap.

              It was mentioned released hostages are pressured by the Israeli government into making false confessions. They tell them if they lie there will be more pressure on Hamas to release other hostages.

              No physical signs of any abuse was found.

              • ???@lemmy.world
                22·
                4 months ago

                Thanks for pointing that out. No denying this. Is this about Amit Soussanna? Would be curious to see a timeline for that. But also as a rape victim myself, it took me years to finally come out and tell my parents what had happened. It’s possible that she is lying, but also possible that she is saying he truth. It doesn’t say anything politically about Hamas or Palestinians… it’s just a thing that is likely to have happened.

                The thing is, it would also be naive to assume that no sexual assault or abuse happeend. Even Hezbollah (a much more disciplined army) will have cases like that.

                • OurToothbrush@lemmy.mlM
                  21·
                  4 months ago

                  Rape happens all the time in war, but you’re claiming it is happening in a particular instance so I’m gonna need you to cite that or edit the comment.

                • geneva_convenience@lemmy.mlOP
                  11·
                  4 months ago

                  Amit never claimed she was raped. She claimed she was groped after changing her story quite a few times, each time becoming more extreme.

                  There is no doubt Israel would have loved her confession when she was released at the 50 day exchange. I cannot imagine them not asking her about it.

                  Hamas was wearing body cams during Al Aqsa flood. Despite rape being a common Israeli practice there is no shred of evidence to suggest Hamas raped anyone. The official UN report on war crimes stated no evidence of any rape by Hamas was found.

              • ???@lemmy.world
                43·
                4 months ago

                Before I do that can I say this?

                I guess what you mean to ask is: was this part of the NYT report or not? Is that right?

                And also, I agree that much of that report was BS, but is that enough to discredit every single story in it? You may pretty well be denying rapes that did take place. I have no reason to deny the testimonies of some of these women. Hamas fighters are not angels and it would be quite naive to assume that no rape happened. What I said does not suggest that Hamas carries out systematic rape. Maybe that is a claim more worth your time to moderate than “some victims came out and spoke out about sexual assault during captivity.”

                But if this is how things roll in this community then just ban me 😉

    • firewood010@lemmy.zip
      513·
      4 months ago

      And the family of the hostages can kill whoever they want to “in revenge”? You guys really have twisted morals.

  • some_guy@lemmy.sdf.org
    701·
    4 months ago

    That’s a far better response than anything Israel has said about killing journalists and children.

    • yeather@lemmy.ca
      381·
      4 months ago

      Isn’t it wild the terrorists are currently following international law closer than the established nation.

      • ian@mander.xyz
        26·
        4 months ago

        There’s an international law that says you can take hostages?

        • yeather@lemmy.ca
          10·
          4 months ago

          There is an international law that says you can take prisoners during war, and there are international laws about the treatment of said prisoners. The only reason they are hostages is because they were not taken by an established country.

          • Petter1@lemm.ee
            5·
            4 months ago

            I think with take prisoners they mean soldiers, not civilians, if I remember correctly. But way more important is that the prisoners aren’t tortured.

            There are many claims that the IDF tortured Palestine people in prison…

    • geneva_convenience@lemmy.mlOP
      12·
      4 months ago

      Were there no hostages Israel would never agree to a ceasefire. They would claim they need to eradicate Hamas no matter the cost. The massive demonstrations for a ceasefire inside of Israel are to get the hostages out. Not because they care for Palestinians.

        • geneva_convenience@lemmy.mlOP
          7·
          4 months ago

          So… you mean like how things are already? That’s the exact point I’m making, lmao.

          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.

            • anarcho-tankie top@lemmygrad.ml
              5·
              4 months ago

              “You seem to be under the false assumption that the Israeli government actually cares about bringing any of the hostages home safely, when it’s pretty obvious they don’t. Their actions have shown this very clearly. The hostages can’t be useful leverage if Israel doesn’t give a shit about them in the first place.”

              Hannibal Directive

          • MeetInPotatoes@lemmy.mlEnglish
            6·
            4 months ago

            With the hostages Hamas can demand things from a deal. Like the IDF permanently withdrawing from Gaza and releasing their Palestinian hostages.

            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.

    • InputZero@lemmy.ml
      10·
      4 months ago

      Part of me thinks it’s propaganda not bargaining power. On several occasions the IDF has dropped bombs on or shot the hostages accidentaly wontonly. The message Hamas is maybe trying to send is that the IDF doesn’t care about saving the hostages. The IDF just want to eradicate the Palestinians. Then again I’m halfway around the world so what do I really know?

  • My Good Sir@lemmy.mlEnglish
    141·
    4 months ago

    Their restraint is actually unbelievable and makes me question what I know about human resilience and dignity

    It makes me feel like I am capable of incredible discipline

    Seeing the tunnels makes me wonder about the future of civilization, about the projects we are capable of beyond capitalism’s dampening constraints, and the primitive ones before it

      • AnarchoAnarchist [none/use name]@hexbear.netEnglish
        11·
        4 months ago

        I think that Hamas fighters should listen to their superiors.

        I don’t think killing hostages is the right thing to do.

        Have a hard time finding fault with this person for seeking revenge after hearing that his children were murdered.

        So, the guard shouldn’t have done this, but I can’t say that I would do differently in his situation. If someone killed my child I would be looking for revenge as well.