"The Use of Casualties as Negotiating Tools in the Israel-Hamas Conflict"
In the Israel-Hamas conflict, both sides hold the bodies of their enemies as bargaining chips, using them as leverage in negotiations. Israel withholds Palestinian bodies, believing Hamas may pay a price for their return, while Hamas holds Israeli hostages, living or dead, as an insurance policy. Families on both sides are lobbying for the return of their loved ones, with Israel trying to identify its dead hostages and Hamas rejecting lopsided exchanges. The conflict has led to the creation of "cemeteries of numbers" for Palestinian militants, with families left in anguish over the whereabouts of their loved ones' bodies.