Hamas planned to dig up UK soldiers, hold skeletons hostage
What's the story
Earlier this year, Israeli soldiers inspecting an underground Hamas facility allegedly discovered the terror group's heinous scheme to unearth British and Commonwealth soldiers buried in the Gaza Strip during World Wars I and II.
The seven-page plan, hatched in 2022, appears to call for Hamas to dig up the soldiers' bodies and hold their remains captive, according to the Telegraph.
Political leverage
Plot aimed to influence UK embassy relocation
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) claim that the plot was designed as a tactic to prevent the United Kingdom from relocating its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
This move had been announced by then-British Prime Minister Liz Truss.
The IDF alleges that the scheme was masterminded by Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and military commander Muhammad Deif, who was killed in an airstrike in July.
Historic graves
Over 3,000 British soldiers buried in Gaza cemetery
More than 3,000 Christian and Jewish British soldiers are interred in a cemetery located in central Gaza. Many of these soldiers lost their lives fighting the Ottomans in 1917.
As part of the plot, Hamas reportedly planned to demand that UK officials either relocate these bodies or pay "lease fees" dating back to 1917.
Political pressure
Hamas's threats aimed to embarrass UK government
Hamas's plan stated that if the British government did not meet their demands, the Gaza Municipality would remove all the corpses from the cemeteries and collect them in a special location, The Telegraph reported.
The bodies would be considered captive until a solution or deal was found.
The plan aimed to put the British government in an "embarrassing position" before its people, political elite, and military.
Plan scrapped
Plot abandoned after UK halts embassy move
The plot was reportedly abandoned after Truss decided not to proceed with the move of the UK embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
However, an unnamed Israeli official warned that there is no guarantee that Hamas will not use this strategy or similar ones in the future.
The official stated, "There is no way to rule out that Hamas will use this strategy or other similar ones to influence external affairs or anything within their agenda in the future."
Site vulnerability
Cemetery damage highlights vulnerability amid tensions
The cemetery where the British soldiers are buried has sustained some damage due to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.
The full extent of this damage remains uncertain, but it underscores the continued vulnerability of the site amidst regional tensions.
The Israeli official further noted that the tactic depicted in Hamas's plan is intended "to quite literally terrorize the people of the UK as a whole in order to influence political decisions."