Will Hezbollah kidnap Israeli soldiers? There is an appeal from Hamas

A spokesman for the Palestinian armed organization Hamas called on Hezbollah, a pro-Iranian terrorist organization operating in Lebanon, to increase its efforts to kidnap Israeli soldiers, the Jerusalem Post website reported.

The spokesman for the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, Abu Ubaida, called on Hezbollah to “complete the mission” started by Hamas's attack on Israel in 2023. The purpose of abducting soldiers is to force the release of Palestinians from Israeli prisons.

Our people's struggle against the Zionists has proven that the shortest path to the release of prisoners is resistance, Ubaida said.

Hamas condemned the law passed on Monday by the Knesset (Israel's parliament) on the death penalty for people convicted by military courts of terrorism. In practice, its provisions apply only to Palestinians in the West Bank, who – unlike Jewish settlers – are subject to military courts administered by the Israeli occupation authorities. Ubaida described the bill as a manifestation of “Zionist arrogance.”

Last week, before the bill was passed, regional media reported that Hezbollah was looking for ways to kidnap Israeli soldiers. The abductees would be a bargaining chip that the Iranian-financed group could use in contacts with both Israel and the Lebanese authorities. The kidnappings would strengthen Hezbollah's position in Lebanon and hamper the Beirut government's efforts to disarm the Shiite group, Israeli broadcaster KAN reported.

According to KAN, Hezbollah was looking for circumstances on the Lebanese-Israeli border that would increase the chances of the kidnapping being successful.

At the same time, a Syrian security source informed KAN that government forces in Syria are trying to seal the border with Lebanon as much as possible in order to block possible attempts by Hezbollah to enter Syria and involve the country in the war between the US and Israel against Iran, which has been ongoing since February 28.

Hezbollah joined this conflict, starting to shell Israel in early March as a gesture of solidarity with Tehran. He returned fire and then entered southern Lebanon. The goal of the Israeli army is to occupy the so-called buffer zone from which Hezbollah will not be able to fire on towns in northern Israel. (PAP)

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