Hamas in Gaza: New fear of the terrorist organization

After the release of the last living hostages held by the Islamist Hamas in the Gaza Strip, French President Emmanuel Macron warned of an ongoing threat from the terrorist organization. “You don’t destroy a terrorist group with thousands of fighters, tunnels and such weapons overnight,” said Macron after the ceasefire was sealed in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

Israel accused Hamas of having so far only handed over 4 of the 28 dead hostages and thus of not adhering to the obligations agreed upon under the ceasefire.

The heads of state of the USA, Qatar, Egypt and Turkey signed a document at their ceremony in Egypt that is intended to consolidate the current ceasefire based on US President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan. It says: “Together we will implement this agreement in a way that ensures peace, security, stability and opportunity for all peoples of the region, including Palestinians and Israelis.” It is not explained which specific measures should be used to achieve this.

“We hereby commit to resolving future disputes through diplomatic engagement and negotiation rather than through force or protracted conflict,” the document continued. Despite the celebratory atmosphere at the “Summit for Peace” in Egypt, where Israel and Hamas were not represented, Macron remains cautious. A 30-second handshake with Trump on a stage seemed tense and jerky.

It is impossible to predict whether the agreement will lead to a long-term end to the fighting in the Gaza Strip. The details must now be negotiated in a second phase. Hamas has already announced that it will continue the fight against Israel. It continues to deny Israel the right to exist and wants to consolidate its power in Gaza again. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his right-wing extremist coalition partners want to completely destroy Hamas. The terrorist organization has so far refused to hand over its weapons, as envisaged in US President Trump’s peace plan.

“I’m still worried because we know how things work with terrorist groups,” said French President Macron when asked by a journalist whether he was worried that Hamas was filling the power vacuum in the Gaza Strip. There will be terrorist attacks and destabilizations in the coming weeks and months, Macron said.

Federal Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul (CDU) said on ARD’s “Brennpunkt” that Hamas must be disarmed and that it should no longer have any political influence. “And that will be the task of the Palestinians, that they break away from this organization.” According to journalists traveling with him, Trump said during his flight to Israel that his government had given Hamas permission to rearm for a limited time in order to provide security in the Gaza Strip.

The terrorist organization released the last 20 of an original 250 hostages on Monday, fulfilling one of the central points of the ceasefire agreements. Those released have now been reunited with their families in Israeli hospitals and shielded from the public. Short videos from the Israeli army allow people in Israel to take part in the highly emotional reunion. It shows relatives lying in each other’s arms, cheering, sobbing and screaming.

“My God, my God, my God,” a mother cries as she clings to her released son. In the images and video sequences also distributed in online media, Omri Miran can be seen playing with his two little daughters for the first time in two years, or brothers separated in captivity who can hug each other again.

Hamas also handed over four coffins containing the remains of dead hostages. According to the Times of Israel newspaper, their identification and the clarification of the cause of death by the Forensic Medicine Institute could probably take up to two days. Israel is now also demanding that Hamas hand over the remaining 24 dead hostages. Defense Minister Israel Katz threatened the terrorist organization that any delay would be viewed as a gross violation of the agreement and would be “responded accordingly.”

Regardless of the remaining points of contention, the European Union hopes for full implementation of Trump’s peace plan and would like to participate in this with border protection experts. A civilian mission to monitor the border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt will be resumed on Wednesday, said EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas on the sidelines of a trip to Kiev. This operation could play an important role in supporting the ceasefire.

The EU Border Support Mission in Rafah (Eubam Rafah) was set up back in 2005 to help control the border crossing in Rafah. After Hamas came to power in Gaza in 2007, there were no EU personnel at the border crossing for a long time because the EU did not want to cooperate with Hamas. According to Israeli and Egyptian security sources, the crossing could soon be reopened.

Palestinian sources said the administration would be handled jointly by the Palestinian Authority (PA), which actually only governs the West Bank, and the EU mission. Accordingly, pedestrians could possibly leave the Gaza Strip, which has been largely devastated by the war, via Rafah today. Conversely, coastal residents stuck in Egypt could return. In Israeli security circles it was emphasized that those entering and leaving the country would have to be checked by Israeli authorities.