Personally, if I didn't want to be held captive by colonized and oppressed people seeking revenge and liberation, I would live somewhere that's not the house those people used to sleep in. But hey, that's just me.

Being in illegal settlements is being part of the occupation force. That's how Hamas views it and it's correct. I imagine civilians from "legal" settlements are also being taken, which I personally oppose but that's fairly typical with prisoners of war.

Completely made necessary by Israel's policy of collective punishment via aerial bombardment. These motherfuckers bomb hospitals and universities without a second thought. This is perhaps the ONLY thing that will make them think twice.

Prisoners are bargaining chips to win the return of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, and also potentially shields to prevent bombing.

Israel has no civilians outside the children too young to have been pressganged into the IDF. Ergo, it's just settler invaders getting taken hostage; which is to be expected during a war of existential question.

If they keep them in Gaza then it means Israel can't do what they normally do which is airstrike the shit out of Gaza. If israel wants the hostages back they must either negotiate with Hamas or do a ground invasion of Gaza. I suspect Hamas wants the ground invasion and has made extensive preparations to maul the shit out of the IDF when they do.

Yeah its brutal but what else are they going to do? Go to the UN again? They can't hold onto any of the territory they took back.

Damn sounds like Israel should immediately begin unconditional peace talks with the Palestinians

Hostages are a strategy. History will judge whether or not it was a good strategy.

The Israeli air assault has been measured because there are hostages located in Gaza.

We know, as our readers know, that the people are the resistance and vice versa: it is the relationship between the sword and shield, the heart and arm. Every Palestinian struggles under the occupation. As this historic battle rages on, we know that the tactics of the occupation will evolve. They will continue to target homes regardless of the presence of resistance activity in an attempt to demoralize the Palestinian people, draw blood, and accelerate their genocide.

As this happens, it is our obligation to our principles that dictates we must not fall into the trap of distinguishing between armed resistance fighters and non-combatants, as every Palestinian has a role in the current state of affairs. Every martyr must be mourned, and every zionist strike must be seen for the crime that it is. We will not allow the occupier or Western media to dehumanize us by creating distinctions between a colonized people whose remained existence on their lands is "militant."

Every Palestinian is a civilian even if they hold arms. A settler is an aggressor, a soldier, and an occupier even if they are lounging on our occupied beaches. As the IOF calls up thousands of reserves, it is clear that all settlers are soldiers. There exists a colonizer and the colonized, an oppressed and the oppressor. The people cannot be dissociated from resistance, because we are in a constant state of resistance.

Certainly, an explosive response is coming.

This struggle has been imposed on us. To resist is to survive, and to resist is a right.

from https://t.me/PalestineResist/13782?single

Was Geronimo justified in killing US frontiersmen?Was Tecumseh justified in burning down Detroit? Are Hamas and the PFLP justified in killing settlers?

I simply would not fly thousands of miles to another country and kick people out their homes.

"Uh, duh?"

You don't leave people alone on the battlefield. They become variables you cannot control.

If they are actually non-combatants, they'll wind up getting in the way and killed in cross fire.

If they are paramilitary forces who haven't joined their units, getting them out of the fight before they can do any damage is objectively a tactical/strategic win.

If the Isreali forces decide to indiscriminately attack buildings that may/may no have their own people held captive in them, that says more about the IDF's blood thirst than the Palestinian resistance that has taken prisoners to begin with.