bloglikeanegyptian:

imo it’s propaganda. the first released hostages reported no mistreatment and then israel stopped them talking directly to the press so i don’t really know about the letter in particular. like to be clear no amount of being treated well will prevent it from being a very terrifying experience. they’re hostages at the end of the day and they were captured in really horrific circumstances

it IS propaganda but its propaganda that belies a specific narrative—that hamas wants the ritual blood of jews and hates all israelis and is incapable of negotiation. keeping a girl alive with her little dog during a bombing campaign that killed 15,000-20,000 people means they are invested in people knowing that they kept this girl and her dog alive. that’s objectively a good thing that speaks to a political goal

i don’t like most of the “the hostages had a great time” narratives because i think they are reductive and can be extrapolated into making the claim that palestinians deserve not to be bombed because the hostages were treated well. this is simply not the case. palestinians should not be bombed because collective punishment is against international humanitarian law and because airstrikes are a stupid and incoherent way to claim to be “rescuing the hostages” which could have been recovered from day 1 through negotiation and the bombing campaign has already killed several of them.

but there’s two reasons this propaganda in particular is so effective:

the first is that israel has been spreading hamas = ISIS narratives since october 7th. they had their own people so terrified of being captured that emily hand’s father (who thought she had been killed) said he was glad she was dead instead of captured. this means that regardless of how they were treated, having the hostages come out whole and healthy (let alone the smiling and waving) is enough for people to begin doubting israeli narratives and to see this as an extraordinary humanitarian achievement even if it isn’t.

the second is that israel has not been attempting this of the palestinians they have as hostages. palestinians came out of israeli prisons speaking of sexual assault, mistreatment, children with broken bones, limping. some of them did not recognize their families due to years of solitary confinement. the IDF raided family homes and confiscated sweets and shot people waiting outside for their release. israeli authorities banned celebrations in jerusalem. ahed tamimi was arrested for a fake instagram story she didn’t even post, and she came out notably drawn and unable to walk unassisted. she was also threatened before her release that her father was in custody and that they would kill him.

so like sure, i think the hostage stuff is propaganda, and i don’t think it’s useful to claim that they had a good time or that they’re besties with hamas now, but i wish israel had the inclination or ability to produce any such propaganda.

i also think the outrage israelis have when they see people claim the hostages were treated well should be seen in light of the latter. many israelis are furious at the implication that hamas is capable of showing mercy because they hate them so much, but they would be better served to consider hamas as a strategic enemy than a barbaric irrational entity. saying that (some of the) hostages were (likely) treated well isn’t exactly an exoneration of hamas, it’s a reflection on how the hostages were treated.

the hostages are traumatized, but so are the majority of palestinians. to claim that this trauma disqualifies any commentary on hamas is to disqualify israel from any conversation too. it’s primarily a reflection of the vast gap in perspective between palestinians, who have been living in a warzone and under brutal occupation and operate with this mentality, and israelis, who have been living in relative peace and comfort. as someone pointed out, october 7th was the first time since 1948 that such a significant battle with such a huge number of casualties was fought in israeli territory. there have been terrorist attacks within israel, yes, but every single war israel has waged since 1948 was fought on arab land (in egypt, lebanon, syria and gaza). you cannot compare a people to whom PTSD cannot be accurately measured because it is “continuous and cumulative trauma” and not post-traumatic stress disorder to the people who set up lawn chairs to watch them being bombed in terms of reaction. it was obviously a very huge shock and horror to the israeli psyche and they are reacting based on how it felt to them as opposed to what actually happened. a hostage coming out relatively unscathed still feels like a violation and a crime, while to palestinians it is evidence that the hostages were more protected than their own people. this is often the core of disproportionate israeli response, and can be traced back to the reality of colonialism and apartheid.

i genuinely feel sorry for many of the hostages, particularly the children. i don’t think they should have gone through this and i can’t imagine that the airstrikes and bombing made it any easier. i don’t want this to be interpreted as “i hope israelis experience the same trauma palestinians have” because i sincerely don’t. i’m actually trying to say the outrage at how the hostages were treated should be a window into understanding the palestinian experience. if israelis are outraged and traumtized, then so are palestinians. if they want this to stop, then so do palestinians. if we view this as unequivocally wrong, then israel needs to be stopped by any and all means necessary.

lastly, (bc i think i got this ask after i was talking abt the thai hostages) if hamas was actually ISIS the thai hostages would not have been alive. they were barely mentioned in global coverage, were not in the missing hostage posters, and were largely only part of the conversation as proof of hamas atrocities on oct 7th. they were clearly not the targets nor were they included in the exchange deals to release palestinian prisoners. their treatment and release was independent of the palestinian prisoner negotiations with israel.

what i mean is they had no political leverage for hamas and as migrant workers even within their own country are of the least privileged citizens. i don’t think any of them were muslim. the argument that hamas only treated the israeli hostages humanely because they need them as bargaining chips falls apart for the thai hostages. regular people in gaza had trouble finding food and water but they kept them alive and promised the thai negotiator that they would be among those released first and followed through on that. if u know the record of other arab countries with southeast asian migrant workers, this is a relief.