Israel-Hamas war: Have hostages gone missing in Gaza?
Qatar has claimed that at least 40 women and children being held hostage in Gaza are not in the hands of Hamas – and are unaccounted for.
Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al Thani said they may “never be able to reach them” – despite their communication lines with Hamas – and that locating the missing would be key to extending the current ceasefire.
Truce extension ‘close’; follow Israel-Gaza latest
Hamas leaders have previously blamed other militant groups for hostages going missing – saying they took advantage of damage done to the Israeli border from 7 October to smuggle their own captives into Gaza.
Israel has said it is “evaluating” the list of hostages still due to be freed under the current ceasefire.
So far 117 of 150 Palestinian prisoners promised by the Israelis have been freed – in exchange for 40 of the 50 hostages agreed to by Hamas.
Who might be holding them?
Although the Qataris say more than 40 hostages are missing, one of Hamas’s rival militant groups, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, has claimed it is holding 30 of them.
Hans-Jakob Schindler, senior director at the transatlantic thinktank the Counter Extremism Project, says the situation is “terribly unclear”.
“It’s important to note that Islamic Jihad and Hamas don’t have a co-operative relationship – they’re actually competitors,” he tells Sky News. “So it’s not entirely clear if Hamas can get Islamic Jihad to release any of the hostages it may be holding.
“And it seems it wasn’t just them and Hamas involved in the 7 October attack.
Members of Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza City on 4 October
“There’s been a well-developed smuggling economy in Gaza for decades – long before Hamas took control – organised by networks of crime families.
“So it’s possible hostages are neither under the control of Hamas nor Islamic Jihad – but these crime organisations.”
Independent criminals would have looked to take their own hostages in the chaos of 7 October for their own gain, he adds.
Could Hamas be lying?
Qatar’s links to Hamas, hosting many of its leaders in Doha, mean that Sheikh Mohammed’s claims about missing hostages are likely to have come from the group.
Mr Schindler says he “wouldn’t put it past Hamas to lie to the Qataris” as a way of indirectly misleading Israel.
But if they are, this is a strategy they need to consider “very, very carefully”, Professor Michael Clarke, security and defence analyst, tells Sky News.
“It’s in Hamas’s interests to keep these negotiations going, for two reasons.
“First, they want Palestinians freed from Israeli prisons, but second, so they can stall Israel’s second offensive.
“So, on the one hand, they want to play mind games, but they also don’t want to ruin the arrangement.”
Damage to the Israel-Gaza border
Read more:
The 40 Israeli hostages freed so far
Why is Qatar involved in hostage negotiations?
Four-day truce enters final 24 hours
Continuing the hostage-prisoner exchange is also important for Hamas’s legitimacy with the people of Gaza, Mr Schindler adds.
“This is a two-part negotiation. One with Israel and then one internally – to show the Palestinian community this was all worth it – Gaza destroyed, Palestinians used as human shields.
“They want to use this hostage situation to their maximum benefit – because before 7 October, 70% of Gazans said they didn’t like Hamas and I don’t think it’s going to get much better.”
Air strike damage near the Rafah border with Egypt
Could they have died?
From late-October, Hamas has claimed that between 50 and 60 hostages have been killed in airstrikes.
Abu Ubaida, spokesperson for the Qassam Brigades, the group’s military wing, said the bodies of 23 missing Israeli hostages had been found in rubble.
Professor Clarke claims, however, that with hostages being likely held in tunnels underneath Gaza, they are safer than most in the territory and are unlikely to have been killed.
He also notes that Hamas did not identify any hostages supposedly confirmed dead.
“It would have been to their advantage to name them because it would increase pressure on Benjamin Netanyahu to pause airstrikes on Gaza, as the families could say ‘our relatives died from Israeli bombs – please stop them’.”
Banned from Eurovision after its invasion of Ukraine, Russia will hold a rival international song contest on Saturday, with an emphasis on “traditional values”.
Instead of camp, think conservative – patriotic pop with a PG-rating.
“Intervision” was launched under the order of Vladimir Putin, with the hope it would serve as an expression of Moscow’s international pulling power.
Intervision decorations in Red Square, Moscow, ahead of the contest
There are contestants from 23 countries, which are a mixture of Russia’s allies old and new, including Belarus, Cuba and Tajikistan as well as China, India and Saudi Arabia.
The odd one out is the United States, who’ll be represented by an artist called “Vassy”. She’s not part of an official delegation, but an American voice is still a coup for the Kremlin, which will seek to use this contest as proof of the West’s failure to isolate Russia on the global stage.
‘War whitewash’
Intervision is not entirely new. It was originally launched in the 1960s as an instrument of Soviet soft power, before largely fading from view in the 1980s.
According to Moscow, its revival has nothing to do with politics. But Ukraine has condemned it as propaganda, and an attempt to whitewash Russia’s war.
It was a point I put to some contestants after their final press conferences, but it didn’t go down well.
“We don’t think like that, we are here to spread peace,” India’s Rauhan Malik told me, when I asked if his participation was a show of support for Russia’s invasion.
Malik, one of the contestants
“Are you not turning a blind eye to Russia’s aggression?” I countered.
“I have no idea about it,” he said. “I have no idea about the current situation that’s happening. I don’t want to speak about that as well.”
Eurovision legends Abba would almost certainly not make the Russian contest guest list. Pic: AP
Really? He had no idea? But before I could go on, I felt a forceful hand on my shoulder and a minder stepped in.
The intervention was even quicker when it came to speaking to Brazil’s act. As soon as I mentioned the word Ukraine, I was drowned out by shouts of “no, no, no, no” and the duo were ushered away.
Brazilian contestants, duo Luciano Calazans and Thais Nader
Where’s the glitter?
Intervision is not just a reaction to Russia’s recent exclusion from Eurosivion, however, it’s also a reaction to the contest’s values and what it’s come to represent.
Its celebration of sexual diversity and LGBTQ+ rights are seen as a symbol of what the Kremlin calls the West’s moral decline. In contrast, Intervision organisers say their contest will promote “traditional, family values.”
Judging by the costumes on show ahead of last week’s draw, that translates to less glitter, more embroidery, with a thematic emphasis on national heritage.
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So what do Russians think of Intervision’s resurrection? Can it replace Eurovision?
“We don’t miss Eurovision,” Galina and Tatiana say, underneath a collection of purple and pink ‘Intervision’ flags near Red Square.
“It was so horrible, especially lately. We didn’t like watching it at all.”
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Why are countries boycotting Eurovision?
Polina agrees, believing Russia’s version will be “more interesting”.
“Many countries that participated in Eurovision want to boycott it, so it’s interesting to see a more peaceful event now,” she says.
Igor is more circumspect. “I’d like to believe that this isn’t a political event,” he says, “but rather an event that unites nations and people.”
Intervision will succeed in uniting some nations. But at the same time, it may only deepen divisions with others – further evidence that Russia and the West are singing very different tunes.
Donald Trump will introduce a new $100,000 application fee for foreign worker visas.
A White House official said the US President is preparing to sign a proclamation today that will require a $100,000 application fee for H-1B visa, which covers highly-skilled foreign workers.
The charge is part of a broader immigration crackdown.
H-1B visas are meant to bring the best and brightest foreigners for high-skilled jobs that tech companies find difficult to fill with qualified Americans and other permanent residents.
The programme has drawn criticism for becoming a pipeline for overseas workers who are often willing to work for wages lower than those typically paid to US technology workers. Critics also argue that companies use H-1B visas to overlook Americans for jobs.
First lady Melania Trump, the former Melania Knauss, was granted an H1-B work visa in October 1996 to work as a model. She was born in Slovenia.
What is a H-1B visa?
The H-1B programme has been crucial for technology and staffing companies who rely on foreign workers.
Historically, these visas – 85,000 per year – have been doled out through a lottery system.
Donald Trump will introduce the charge as part of an immigration crackdown
India, the largest beneficiary of H-1B visas last year, accounted for 71% of approved beneficiaries.
China was second with 11.7%, according to government data.
Shares of IT services company, Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp, fell by over 5% on Friday.
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