Gaza: From Hostages to an Evidence-Free Conspiracy Narrative

Gaza: From the Fate of the Hostages to the Conspiracy Narrative

Few questions divide as sharply as this one: if Hamas laid down its weapons, would the Gaza conflict end today? The issue began in autumn 2023, with the hostages still captive, and has stretched over nearly 500 days. In that time it has mutated completely: from the fate of civilians it moved to geopolitical hypotheses, and from there to biblical prophecies and conspiracy theories that circulate without a shred of evidence.

The starting point is set by the October 7 attack. According to the narrative that runs through the conversation, that day they enter Israel and kill and rape more than 1,700 people, as well as taking hostages. The figure works as both argument and reproach: if the children of Gaza are such a concern, why aren't the hostages released? That question strains the rest of the matter.

Should Hamas Hand Over Its Weapons?

Here the central standoff is fought. One camp holds that everything hinges on Hamas leaving the government of Gaza and laying down its arms, just as—they argue—Granada was not destroyed because the Moors surrendered and allowed the Catholic Monarchs to enter. No one is calling for that, this side complains: only Israel is being required to halt its offensive, which in its view would allow Hamas to rearm and resume firing rockets every day.

The reply comes with another question: why should Gazans surrender after the massacres? For a second camp, the armed group is merely the excuse; the underlying problem is the State of Israel itself, whose legitimacy they deny. The discussion grows bitter because each side turns the other's point into proof of bad faith, and that makes pogre impossible.

Is Israel a Democracy or a Incivil State?

The nuance most often lost in the fray is the distinction between state and government. One side recalls that Israel is an imperfect democracy—with weekly protests against its own executive—just as a government does not represent an entire country. The response is swift: for the other side, anyone justifying the State of Israel is endorsing a steady drip of child deaths, and no nuance is acceptable.

Concrete data are scarce, and when they appear, they are used as weapons. Against the reproach that Israel is an imperfect democracy but a democracy, the reply cites the peace maintained for more than 50 years with Egypt and Jordan. Among the points raised against the official narrative is that a music festival changed location hours before the attack, or that the Israeli army took seven hours to mobilize in a country that is supposed to be prepared. These are suspicions, not conclusions.

From Politics to Ezekiel: The Leap to Prophecy

The most striking turn in the matter is theological. One of the dominant lines argues that the current State of Israel is not the Israel of the prophecies, but the people of Gog and Magog from Ezekiel 38: descendants—it says—of Scythians, Huns and Khazars converted to Judaism, who came from the north. Against them, the Palestinians would be those who lived peacefully in the land until the arrival of the Zionists, and they rely on quotes attributed to John Paul II, Noam Chomsky and Ben-Gurion.

The counterargument is just as strong: the people of the New Covenant would be the Church, and the coalition of Gog and Magog would actually point to Russia and its allies, with Rome, France and Spain as targets. Neither reading has academic backing, but that does not stop an exchange now settled by dueling Bible verses.

The Unsupported Theories That Slip In

In parallel, a package of conspiracy claims without evidence circulates: that Israel funded Hamas to divide the Palestinian cause, that Mossad carried out 9/11 in 2001, or that the 1946 King David Hotel bombing was the greatest terrorist act of the 20th century. None of this is backed by proof; several of these theses have circulated for decades in different wrappings, and none withstands the slightest documentary scrutiny.

When the Matter Becomes Global War

The final stretch leaves Gaza and jumps to the map. There is speculation that Iran will receive Asian support, that Europe risks being invaded, and that Spain should withdraw from any military venture to defend its own borders. Dantesque scenarios appear, even a call for a “strongman” to take the helm. Underneath, the same idea: this is not a regional conflict, it is the prologue to a larger one.

Nearly 500 days later, the jarring fact remains the same. Hamas has neither handed over its weapons nor have all the hostages returned. And the only figure that has not stopped growing is that of the argument itself.