The Saudi newspaper 'Asharq Al-Awsat' published new details today (Saturday) about the holding of the hostages in the Gaza Strip.
According to Hamas sources who spoke to the newspaper, protecting the hostages was a very difficult task, but the organization's most senior leadership - both in the military and political wings - instructed to invest great efforts in protecting the hostages, both alive and dead.
According to a report in Kan News, sources in the organization confirmed that the living abductees regularly moved from place to place in the Gaza Strip, as much as conditions on the ground allowed, under heavy guard - and without the IDF noticing.
According to them, the abductees moved through tunnels, above-ground apartments, and other places.
Hamas sources also said that the dead hostages were held in graves inside Hamas tunnels, in cemeteries, and at points belonging to the factions where there was infrastructure that allowed the bodies to be preserved.
Many hostages were transferred from the north of the Gaza Strip to the south. According to the sources, at times the IDF was only a few meters away from the hostages, but their guards managed to mislead the forces and prevent them from reaching them, or to move the hostages by alternative routes.
According to the report, some of the hostages were in tunnels located under IDF assembly points.
According to Hamas sources, after October 7, Hamas' military wing held a series of conversations, both direct and indirect, with the leadership of the other factions that had taken hostages. This was in order to coordinate with them on actions to protect the hostages, including collecting information about the identities of the hostages, their numbers, and transferring some of them to the custody of the military wings of Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
The leadership of Hamas' military wing supervised the guarding of the hostages of Hamas and the other factions.
After the first ceasefire, direct meetings were held with senior military officials in the other factions in order to organize and re-integrate the identities of the living and dead abductees.
In addition, during that period, hostages were transferred to Hamas for custody, as it was considered the organization with the most significant ability to guard the hostages.
During the January 2025 ceasefire, extensive and joint coordination took place with the participation of Hamas' political wing, Islamic Jihad, and other factions, in order to leave the hostages under full Hamas control.
Islamic Jihad helped guard the hostages, as it was perceived to have more developed military capabilities than other factions, including tunnels that could allow it to help guard the hostages.
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