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Depleted Hamas Focuses on Capturing Israeli Soldiers in Gaza
(Guardian-UK) Jason Burke - Last week, IDF Sgt. Abraham Azulay, 25, was killed in Khan Yunis during an attempted abduction. Hamas militants also tried to take away his body but were stopped by Israeli forces. "This attempt failed. No doubt Hamas will increase its attempts to take new hostages, including bodies of dead soldiers and civilians," said Michael Milstein, head of the Palestinian studies forum at Tel Aviv University. "Hamas may release captives to have a ceasefire, at least for now, but is also attempting to capture more...so is signaling that any agreement is not going to be a permanent end to the overall conflict," said Abdeljawad Hamayel, a Ramallah-based political analyst. Milstein said Hamas was eager for a ceasefire but not at any cost. "Here in Israel, we have had an experiment with the idea that more and more pressure on Hamas means they will give up. Well, how much more pressure can you imagine? We have killed their leaders. We have destroyed Gaza. But we have not changed the basic attitudes and demands of Hamas."