Releasing the Hostages is Israel’s Most Urgent Priority

As we witnessed the latest freeing of three Israeli hostages, not only was there joy at the reunion of families, but horror at the way the liberated hostages appeared. Emaciated, as pictures of what they looked like before October 7 were compared to the images before our eyes made clear, they reinforced the understanding of torturous conditions and treatment the hostages were enduring in their captivity, and the urgency to get all the remaining hostages out as soon as possible.

All of this was a product of the agreement between Israel and Hamas to free the Israelis in stages in exchange for thousands of Palestinian prisoners, many with blood on their hands, and with a commitment by Israel to observe a ceasefire. While the vast majority of Israelis supported this agreement, there were legitimate concerns related to the freeing of terrorists. This took the form of legitimate fears that many of them will undoubtedly engage at some point in terrorist attacks against Israel, as took place with those freed in the Gilad Shalit deal. And it involved a moral issue for those families who suffered losses from the terrorists who were now allowed to go to free. 

These are not minor objections, but the background to this agreement was very different from last May when a similar deal was on the table. While the outcry arose that Israel could have reached a similar agreement months ago when the hostages would undoubtedly have been in much better shape than today — a legitimate perspective — one also has to realize that at that time Israel had not achieved any significant strategic goals in order to protect its population.

Not only was Hamas not defeated, but its main supporters in the region, all of whom enabled it to commit its atrocities on October 7, were still as potent as ever. Hezbollah was seen as threatening northern Israel with its hundreds of thousands of missiles causing 70,000 Israelis to evacuate their homes. Iran was not only funding and inspiring Hamas, it launched repeated missile attacks against Israel. And Syria continued to be a vehicle to pass on arms and weapons from Iran to Hezbollah. 

In this context, while a powerful case could have been made in favor of making the freeing of hostages an immediate priority, the argument that to end the war at that stage would leave Israel in a perilous security situation — not only from Hamas, but in the wider region, where October 7 was perceived as an indicator of Israeli vulnerability unlike anything experienced for decades — was equally powerful. In sum, there were legitimate competing claims at that point about Israeli priorities which made the May proposal, as significantly humane as it was, less appealing.

Today, as noted, even as legitimate objections to the deal cannot be dismissed, Israel’s situation has dramatically changed in the ensuing period, making the need to prioritize the freeing of hostages the overwhelming priority for Israeli leaders and its people.

Even while Hamas parades around as if it has won, the people of Gaza know that Hamas’s atrocities have brought devastation to Gaza. And their ability to be a serious military threat has been largely diminished even as they try to present themselves as a viable force. At the same time, the fact that an alternative to Hamas control in Gaza has not surfaced is a tremendous challenge, and opened the path toward President Trump’s radical proposal for Gaza.

Meanwhile, Israel has defanged Hezbollah with its brilliant military operations opening up the possibility of a Lebanon not controlled by the Iranian proxy. And Iran has proven to be vulnerable to Israeli air attacks in a way that was not expected, putting the Islamic Republic on its heels, and, at least for now, unable to support its surrogates as it had until now. And, as a result of all this, Syrian rebel forces were able to rise up, knowing that Iran, Hezbollah and Russia could not intervene to upend the Assad regime.

In sum, even while objections to the hostage agreements continue to have validity, Israel’s strategic situation, together with the images of the freed ones, reinforce the urgency to get others out before it is too late. It is clear that the need for Israel to focus all its efforts on the release of all the hostages must be its urgent priority.

Let us all join in toward that effort and avoid litigating past decisions that were full of complications.