"Gaza Strip's Numerous Underground Cities Make Israeli Hostage Rescue Difficult"

Professor Seong Il-gwang of Korea University MBC Radio Interview
"Low Possibility of War Suspension Due to Israeli Hostages"

"There are already many underground city-like structures that Hamas has built in Gaza Strip, so it is difficult to locate (the Israeli hostages)."

Seong Il-kwang, a professor at Korea University’s Middle East and Islam Center, said this in an interview with MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' on the 11th. Hamas is holding about 150 Israeli hostages, and he explained that there are many practical difficulties in rescue operations. Since Israel allows dual citizenship, it is known that among the hostages there are people from European countries, the United States, and other nations.

Professor Seong predicted that there is a possibility of hostage negotiations between Israel and Hamas.

On the 10th (local time), a resident stands among the rubble of a building destroyed by an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip, Palestine. After the Palestinian armed group Hamas launched a surprise attack targeting Israel on the 7th, clashes broke out, resulting in approximately 1,500 deaths on both sides.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

He said, "There is room for negotiation. Because handing over 150 lives to Hamas in Gaza Strip without any negotiation would be very unfavorable to public opinion in Israel and would cause significant damage. Therefore, it is expected that negotiations will definitely take place."

Professor Seong said that although Hamas is trying to use the hostages as leverage to prevent Israeli attacks, it is unlikely to stop Israel’s offensive. He explained, "If the Hamas leadership or Hamas members’ houses in Gaza Strip are destroyed, then they think they will execute some of the hostages to try to stop the Israeli attacks," adding, "Israel will continue its attacks on Gaza Strip regardless of that."

Professor Seong stated, "Because too many Israeli civilians have died, Israel will continue its attacks on Gaza Strip until it can calm public opinion and the highly agitated atmosphere," and predicted, "Since Israel is currently in a very agitated state, the possibility of stopping the war because of the hostages is quite low."

Professor Seong analyzed, "Israel seems likely to continue attacks until its anger subsides," and added, "in the worst case, ground troops may enter (Gaza Strip)."

The background of Hamas’s attack is said to be related to the complex situation in the Middle East. Regarding this, Professor Seong explained as follows.

"Hamas is trying to assert its presence and obstruct the current normalization of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia. If Israel and Saudi Arabia normalize relations, Hamas will lose its leadership over the Palestinian issue, and it will also be a very unfavorable scenario for Iran, which has supported Hamas for a long time. Therefore, it can be said that this surprise attack was carried out to disrupt these developments."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.