Does Hamas know where the hostages are?

Former Shin Bet Sinwar interrogator: ‘Today, no one in all of Hamas knows exactly where all the hostages are being held.’

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Micha Kobi, a former member of Israel’s security agency (Shin Bet) and an interrogator of deceased Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in Israeli prison, said he does not believe that the terror group knows the location of all the hostages.

He told Maariv, “The main headquarters of Hamas is no longer operational, but – there are other guerilla fighters who are fighting throughout the region on behalf of the organization, within the framework of local and even neighborhood headquarters of Hamas.”

He added, “Today, no one in all of Hamas knows exactly where all the hostages are being held.”

Kobi continued, “Someone may be aware of the location of one or two, but I don’t think anyone is aware of all of them.”

He said that Hamas is not interested in a hostage deal and is using false offers of proposals to release captives as a way to blackmail Israel.

“There is no such thing as a deal – this is blackmail. They are mercilessly blackmailing the state,” he said.

When Sinwar was killed last month during an IDF operation, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered Gazans immunity from prosecution if they return hostages.

Kobi recommended the government go a step further and pay a monetary reward for releasing captives.

He said, “We need to go in the direction of intelligence operations and turn to families who know something so that they bring information about the hostages in exchange for money.”

Another obstacle is Hamas’s control of humanitarian aid in Gaza, which allows the terror group to exert absolute power over the citizens.

Video footage and witnesses have proven that Hamas has been looting and stealing aid and selling it back to civilians at exorbitant prices.

As a solution, Kobi envisions setting up a military government in Gaza.
“We need to establish units on behalf of the IDF and Shin Bet, which will take care of the local administration, and appoint Gazan education and health personnel – who are not affiliated with Hamas,” he said.”

Although the IDF has destroyed 90% of Hamas leaders, “We need to make sure nothing else remains” of the terror group in the region, which could take “one or two years.”