Hamas’s Qassam Brigades has threatened to execute Israeli captives if Israel continues to bombard and kill civilians in Gaza.
“Any targeting of innocent civilians without warning will be met regretfully by executing one of the captives in our custody, and we will be forced to broadcast this execution,” said Abu Obeida, a spokesman for Hamas’ Qassam Brigades.
“We regret this decision but we hold the Zionist enemy and their leadership the responsibility for this,” he said.
A segment of the populace will definitely be feeling that, but remember what happened in the US after 9/11? There weren’t a lot of calls to figure out how intelligence failed so spectacularly because the sabre-rattling government came out in full force, and the country (almost) united against Islamic terrorism. Those who aren’t overtly political or who don’t follow politics too closely will only see that Bibi has reacted with as much force as possible, which plays into his strongman vibe and may even win his party an election in their own right, without having to coalesce with the other parties. After the clusterfuck of elections they’ve been through recently, this could be what seals another decade of Likud rule.