PNW STAFF
For months, the heart of Israel has been torn in two directions--one toward the desperate yearning of families whose loved ones are held hostage by Hamas, and the other toward the uncompromising necessity of destroying the terrorist group that holds them captive. This duality of compassion and resolve is not only reshaping Israel's war against Hamas but redefining modern warfare itself.
Hamas has learned a devastatingly effective lesson: rockets, with all their noise and fire, cost millions and rarely achieve their goals. But hostages-innocent men, women, children-paralyze nations. They fracture societies.
They create impossible dilemmas for governments, forcing leaders to weigh the lives of the few against the security of the many. Hamas has discovered that nothing weakens Israel's hand more than its moral heart.
Recent weeks have underscored just how entrenched this strategy has become. Negotiations to free current hostages remain ongoing, and yet Hamas is already plotting the next abductions. A few weeks ago, militants attacked an IDF post in Khan Yunis in what appeared to be an attempt to seize more soldiers. And just days ago, Hamas threatened that Israel's new operation in Gaza City would "invite" further kidnappings. The message is clear: hostage-taking is no longer an occasional tactic; it has become central to Hamas's military doctrine.
This is not without precedent. Israel has long faced the excruciating burden of negotiating for its captured citizens. The 2011 exchange of over 1,000 Palestinian prisoners for the release of a single soldier, Gilad Shalit, set a chilling standard. Many of those released returned to violence. Israel's generosity and compassion were repaid with more terror. And now, history is repeating itself. For every concession made to free hostages, Hamas grows bolder, confident that kidnapping is the most powerful weapon in its arsenal.
The human cost cannot be ignored. Every Israeli family with a loved one in captivity experiences a daily torment that no government, no military strategy, can fully comfort. Their pain is real, their calls for action justified. No society that values human life can dismiss such anguish. And yet, if Hamas is permitted to dictate the terms of this conflict through abductions, the cycle of terror will never end. Each release, each compromise, plants the seed for the next round of kidnappings.
Israel's leaders face a cruel paradox: to save the few risks endangering the many. This is why Israel has now moved forward with what it calls the "final operation" in Gaza City. By delaying its decisive blow against Hamas for the sake of negotiations, Israel has allowed its enemy precious time to regroup and entrench itself. Hamas understands this. The hostages were never only bargaining chips; they were shields, strategically placed between Israel and the decisive victory it seeks.
The days ahead will be dark. Families will continue to cry out for their loved ones, and their cries must be heard. But alongside their pain, Israel must carry a grim determination: never again to let kidnapping dictate the pace of war. Hamas has chosen a path of brutality. Israel must answer with the resolve of a nation unwilling to bow to terror, even as it weeps for its sons and daughters.
And yet, in the midst of this bitter struggle, the response of the international community adds insult to injury. Instead of isolating Hamas and those who embolden it, Western nations have chosen this very moment to reward the Palestinians with calls for statehood at the United Nations this September.
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