For more than 450 days, 100 innocent people, including seven Americans, have been held captive in the dark tunnels of the Gaza Strip. Their names and faces often fade from the news cycle. Their lives are reduced to a statistic or news headline. Yet, if we truly wish to bring them home, we must first allow ourselves to imagine their suffering. Only by imagining their daily horrors can we begin to understand the urgency of this crisis, and the need for bold, compassionate leadership.
It is not enough to negotiate with their names on a list. We must understand their suffering.
Every night, when we close our eyes, we must ask ourselves: What is it like to be a hostage, held in darkness with no rights, no food, no warmth and no love? What is it like to endure constant fear, physical abuse and emotional torment for 15 long months? For more than a year, these individuals have been held by terrorists—not because of their actions, but because of the cruelty of those who took them. They are pawns in a geopolitical game. They are human beings whose agenda is survival.
Of the NGOs, governments and world leaders that do not speak out and publicly declare concern for these captive humans, how many of them truly imagine the nightmare these individuals endure? How many have closed their eyes to envision what it would feel like to have their son, daughter, father, spouse or grandparent ripped away and held captive in such inhumane conditions for over a year?
I call, especially, on women activists, their organizations and their leaders, who have not spoken up for the young women who have been subjected to brutal acts of violence and sexual abuse to imagine these horrors happening to their own daughters or to women anywhere else in the world. By remaining silent on the plight of the women held hostage in Gaza, they perpetuate the danger for all women and erase every step forward we as a society took with the “#MeToo” movement. Their voices must be heard in the fight to end this nightmare. They must believe that all women, including the voices of those who are still in captivity.
The time has come for leaders in Gulf nations who advocate for tolerance and peace in their region to step out of the shadows and speak publicly, with courage, for the release of the hostages. The world cannot remain silent any longer. It is time to be bold and brave.
Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad, the Houthis and their common backer, the Iranian regime, have been weakened since the Hamas-led terrorist attacks in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is now at a crossroads—a pivotal moment where he can demonstrate that Israel is not only strong militarily but also looks after its citizens and aspires for peace with its neighbors. This is the moment for Netanyahu to show compassion and do everything in his power to save the hostages and bring an end to the suffering perpetuated by an otherwise endless war.
As we enter a new year, we must not let the darkness of this conflict extinguish the light of hope. We need to put aside divisions and unite in the common cause of saving innocent humans and finding a way forward past the fighting.
