The dramatic images that came out of Gaza, with a new Hamas show exhibiting the coffins of the Bibas children and Oded Lifshitz, once again told the world who Israel is dealing with. In the background was an image of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, depicted as a vampire, overlooking the photos of the four deceased hostages. The message from Hamas? To say, Netanyahu is responsible for their deaths, and not the terror group.
This is something Hamas is a master at—killing women and children or using them as human shields and then blaming Israel. The terrorist organization has always done it and will continue to do so until the end of its days, which will hopefully come soon.
Immediately after the Oct. 7 massacre, Hamas propaganda spread on the web. It was relaunched by pro-Palestinian accounts presenting the terrorists as wishful to protect Shiri, Ariel and Kfir Bibas in the infamous video documenting their kidnapping. Some anti-Israel individuals used it as evidence to allegedly prove that Hamas did not want to harm women and children; others even claimed that the three were never kidnapped and taken to Gaza. A few even tried clutching at straws by saying that Hamas was “protecting” the Bibas family “from the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] and from being used as human shields.”
What should now be addressed is the security issue because, with these heartbreaking images, Israel is at a crossroads. Not only is it worth pondering whether to carry on dealing with such murderers, but the impact of Phase Two of the agreement with Hamas which would include, in addition to the release of more Palestinian terrorists from Israeli prisons, the total withdrawal of the IDF from Gaza, the Philadelphi Corridor and the complete cessation of hostilities.
Without security, there can be no survival. A nation surrounded by hostile countries and with the enemy at home cannot afford the luxury of dealing with terrorists because, in the long term, the price to pay will be very high, if not vital.
The Oct. 7 massacre was the result of previous negotiations with Hamas that led to the release of thousands of terrorists detained in Israeli prisons for the liberation of Gilad Shalit. Among the released terrorists was Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind of the terrorist attacks. The result of that deal? The greatest pogrom against the Jews since the Holocaust, with more than 1,200 people dead, in addition to the hundreds of Israeli soldiers who were killed or seriously injured during the military campaign that followed, which was supposed to lead to the “eradication of Hamas.” So far, that has not happened.
For the last few weekends, Hamas has humiliated the released hostages while posing to show Gazans who is still in charge. Hamas’s propaganda not only conveys the message that Oct. 7 was a success but is a way to recruit new terrorists into its ranks. The survival of Hamas would transform the Palestinian terrorist organization into a dangerous ideological dogma that would fuel further violent actions even outside of Israel’s borders, and there is certainly no need for it.
Continuing a gradual release of the remaining hostages is a mistake because no human being can survive in the underground concentration camps of Hamas for much longer. The conditions of Ohad Ben Ami, Or Levy and Eli Sharabi, the three living hostages released recently, speak for themselves: they seemed to have come out of Auschwitz. This should not be tolerated.
As explained by Israeli-Arab journalist Khaled Abu Toameh for the Gatestone Institute, the hostages could have been released a long time ago if the Biden administration had exerted enough pressure on Qatar to use its good relations with the Islamist group to force it to do so.
Biden could have pressured Doha by threatening to withdraw United States forces from Qatar. He could have threatened to impose economic sanctions on Qatar or designate it as a “state sponsor” of terrorism if it did not pressure Hamas to release the hostages. After all, Hamas is blacklisted by the United States and the European Union, and it’s no secret that Qatar is its main supporter in the Middle East. Hamas would have found it hard to say no to its major political and financial patrons and backers.
Qatar is no neutral mediator, and it is pursuing Hamas’s interests in the region. It’s obvious that the terror organization’s current interest is to survive the war, and, so far, it seems to be working. Its next step will be to remain in control of Gaza, and that’s exactly what will happen if Israel accepts the conditions for Phase 2.
The situation is confusing with the Trump administration declaring that it wants all the hostages released, while, at the same time, stating that Hamas must be destroyed and Gazans deported. Hamas will never release all the hostages without reassurance that it will survive and remain in Gaza.
Now would be the right time to put an end to the ceasefire deal and force Hamas to release every single hostage remaining in captivity by enforcing real pressure on Qatar, taking over Gaza with the military, and eradicating it once and for all, while simultaneously arresting and prosecuting its leaders abroad.
With the end of the first phase, the situation is now stalled. New terms proposed by U.S. special envoy to the Middle East Steven Witkoff call for a temporary ceasefire during Ramadan and Passover. On the first day of such an agreement, half of the living and dead hostages would be released. At the end of the framework, if an agreement is reached, the remaining hostages would all be freed at one time.
Israel’s position remains the same. Hamas must be eradicated before a deal to end the war can take place. As of now, Hamas has rejected Witkoff’s proposal and Israel has responded by cutting aid supplies to Gaza. Additionally, the leaders of Arab countries have met in Cairo to discuss the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip. The world now waits to see if there will be any further breakthroughs in negotiations or if the fighting will resume.