IDF: Hamas May Smuggle Hostages Amid Crowds

The Israel Defense Forces are preparing to operate cautiously inside Gaza City to avoid harming living hostages and have conveyed reassuring messages to their families to that effect. At the height of the last maneuver inside the city about two years ago, the army posted a sign urging hostages to “collapse” so troops could identify them. A military source said: “It’s hard to predict how Hamas will treat the hostages, it’s clear the operation puts them at risk.”

As part of preparations for a Gaza ground maneuver, the IDF has in recent days informed families of living hostages that it intends to ensure hostages are not harmed during operations. The notice comes amid preparations for an entry into Gaza City under Operation “Gideon’s Chariots B” and the assessment that hostages are in the city. The army explained that it is standard practice to update hostage families ahead of significant operational moves in the Strip, and that this has been done several times before.

In recent conversations between military officials and hostage families, they were told the operation could begin, a development that significantly increases the risk to the lives of hostages in the area. The IDF does not have a clear fix on the hostages’ locations, only assessments of their presence in certain zones, and because there is no specific pinpoint, the risk is much higher.

Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir has instructed forces to proceed carefully. Such transfers could occur under cover of the mass southbound flow of hundreds of thousands of civilians during the evacuation of Gaza City, through safe corridors where the IDF will not fire.

Hamas has already done this several times during the war, often concealing hostages’ faces when moving them on foot, or dressing them as militants. This practice severely limited soldiers’ ability to fire in many operational events.