US Pressures Israel Over Trapped Terrorists
"Do Not Disrespect Us": Hamas Sent a Calculated Threat with the Return of Goldin's Rifle.
The return of Hadar Goldin's remains has heightened US pressure on Israel to grant safe passage to 150 Hamas terrorists trapped in Rafah, as Israeli security officials decode the terrorist organization's chilling, calculated message.
Israel is facing intense diplomatic pressure from the United States to resolve the issue of approximately 150 Hamas terrorists currently barricaded in an underground tunnel system in the Rafah area, which is under the operational control of the IDF. This pressure has escalated following the return of Lieutenant Hadar Goldin's remains on Sunday.
Security sources confirmed that the US is urging the Israeli political echelon to find a solution for the trapped terrorists. The Hamas leadership has used mediators to send a message to Israel, demanding that they be allowed to evacuate through a "safe passage." However, the Israeli Security Cabinet has debated the matter but has so far refrained from making a final decision, while maintaining its insistence on the immediate return of all remaining deceased hostages.
The Strategic Threat of Full Repatriation
Senior IDF officials are warning that the return of all remaining deceased hostages could strategically shift the diplomatic balance. Once Hamas has complied with this part of the agreement, the pressure will immediately transfer from Hamas to Israel. At that point, the US and other mediators will demand that Israel withdraw from the Palestinian territory (currently controlling 54% of the Strip) back to a buffer zone, paving the way for the reconstruction of Gaza to begin.
This warning highlights the military’s concern that the successful repatriation of all bodies could eliminate a key source of international leverage, forcing Israel into a premature withdrawal.
Hamas’s Calculated Message
Meanwhile, Israeli security agencies, including the IDF and Shin Bet, are closely analyzing the manner in which Goldin’s body was returned, concluding that the terrorists were sending a clear, calculated message.
"The message was very clear," sources in the IDF said. "Hamas proved that it knew perfectly well where Lieutenant Hadar Goldin was all these years. It did not return him randomly with his rifle, it wants to show that the ones who delayed the deals and the opportunities over the years were the political echelon in Israel."
The sources added a second, more sinister message: "Hamas sent another message to anyone who disrespected it, it is a very organized organization, and it has the infrastructure to kidnap again and disappear whomever it wants, in a way that no one will know where they are. Some in Israel thought otherwise. The return of the Tavor rifle is a calculated move, it is not accidental."
This move, officials believe, was designed to emphasize Hamas’s organizational control and operational capability, countering the Israeli narrative that the terrorist group was disorganized or unaware of the bodies' locations.
Despite the political wrangling, military operations are ongoing. Sources in the Southern Command report that fighting continues in the area, with IDF forces actively sweeping the ground, destroying tunnels, and continuing demolition of terrorist infrastructure.