Hamas Releases Two Elderly Hostages, Keep Their Husbands

By Sundance

If you drop the pretending, it becomes crystal clear to see the hostages are being used as leverage to stop a counteroffensive by the Israeli military.  The Obama/Biden administration alignment with Qatar, the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, Hezbollah and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), permeates the media narrative with calls to negotiate terms for peace and hostage release.

As we expected, Benjamin Netanyahu is being painted into a corner by the Biden administration, who are using the U.S. military presence as a shield to force Israel to follow the approved program of the U.S. government.   Biden, et al., want to protect Hamas while simultaneously calling residents of Gaza “victims” to the interests of Hamas and the PIJ.

With 200+ hostages held by Hamas, and up to another 50 held by PIJ, the slow drip of successful hostage release negotiations becomes the justification to stopping the Israeli War counteroffensive.

The two hostages released, Yocheved Lifshitz, 85, and Nurit Cooper, 79, were taken out of Gaza at the Rafah crossing into Egypt, where they were put into ambulances.  However, their elderly husbands were kept behind.  The two women, along with their husbands, were snatched from their homes in the kibbutz of Nir Oz near the Gaza border during Hamas’ Oct. 7 rampage into southern Israeli communities.

WASHINGTON – Israel is widely expected to launch a ground offensive in Gaza, vowing to destroy Hamas. Iranian-backed fighters around the region are warning of possible escalation if that happens, including targeting U.S. forces deployed in the Mideast.

The U.S. has told Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon and other groups not to join the fight. Israel and Hezbollah have traded fire almost daily across the Israel-Lebanon border, and Israeli warplanes have struck targets in the occupied West Bank, Syria, and Lebanon in recent days.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said there had been an uptick in rocket and drone attacks by Iranian-backed militias on U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria, and the U.S. was “deeply concerned about the possibility for any significant escalation” in attacks in coming days.

He said U.S. officials were having “active conversations” with Israeli counterparts about the potential ramifications of escalated military action.

The U.S. advised Israeli officials that delaying a ground offensive would give Washington more time to work with regional mediators on securing the release of more hostages, according to a U.S. official.

Israeli tanks and ground forces have been massed at the Gaza border, and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told troops there Monday to keep preparing for an offensive “because it will come.” He said it will be a combined offensive from air, land, and sea, but did not give a timeframe. (read more)