To guarantee peace, make the enemy surrender.

In the latest ceasefire negotiations, Hamas has yet again refused to provide the names of the hostages it’s holding.

For 434 days they have held hostages, captured during the horrific attack of Oct 7, 2023.

Those captured were alive and dead, male and female, old and young (even babies), Jews and non-Jews, Israelis and non-Israelis. All human beings.

Since Oct 7, 2023, Hamas has refused to even list who they have, that are being held captive, against their will, being humiliated, raped and tortured, in despicable conditions, above and below ground.

For 434 days they have refused access to the hostages to UN, the Red Cross, or any other humanitarian organisation, against all international law, humanitarian custom, and basic common decency. Where is the international outrage? Where is the Secretary-General of the UN pressuring Hamas to provide access? The President of the US supporting at least the hostages that are US citizens? The leaders of the Red Cross, Amnesty International, World Health Organisation, CARE International, Doctors Without Borders. We are the #MeToo activists protesting the treatment of women?

Since Oct 7, over 150 have been returned, either by negotiation, or heroic acts by the IDF & Israel’s security services.

101 are still in captivity. It is not known how many are alive or dead. The only signs have been via propaganda videos made by Hamas. To make videos of hostages for purposes of propaganda, coercion, or humiliation are illegal, according to the Geneva Conventions, which prohibit mistreatment of hostages, including subjecting them to public curiosity or psychological harm.

Hamas has sustained huge losses, and inflicted great suffering on the people it purports to represent. They have lost their 3 most prominent leaders, as well as tens of thousands of fighters, infrastructure and weapons that cost billions of dollars that should have and could have been used to improve the lives of the Palestinian people. Thousands of innocent civilians have been killed in the process, whilst being used as human shields, despite the best efforts of the IDF, which has exhibited an unprecedented level of control whilst waging urban warfare to a level not seen in human history.

A ceasefire is just that – a cessation of violence, until the next time. There was a ceasefire on Oct 6. A new ceasefire will only delay the next round of violence to a later date. There have been ceasefires of all sorts since 1948 in the region. They have only ever resulted in short periods of calm, at best. Not peace.

The only way to guarantee peace, is to make the enemy surrender.

Like Germany and Japan in World War II, or closer to home, like Egypt and the now defunct failed state of Syria, Hamas must acknowledge that they have lost. For a genuine peace to exist, Hamas must make an unconditional surrender, and release ALL the hostages, in one go, immediately. Anything less, is just kicking the can down the road for another day.