Hamas always keeps its weapons or an Israeli body to ensure it stays relevant
Tunisian academic Raed Musa: "Since 2005, the days of [Gilad] Shalit until today, there is always the problem of a Jew or an Israeli who entered the Gaza Strip and got lost, a body got lost, meaning it's always the same ritual. It is not a coincidence, it is a policy so that there will continue to be an issue or a matter that they [Israel] will address Hamas about, so that it [Hamas] will not lose any reason for its existence or for people to address it… Unfortunately, all this is at the expense of the Palestinian people's lives and suffering, just so that Hamas will remain in the picture. There are two issues that the occupation (i.e., Israeli) government will exploit in the worst way. They are the issue of what is called Hamas' weapons, and the issue of the Israeli soldier."
[Official PA TV, Topic of the Day, Jan. 21, 2026]