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February 27, 2024
Sondra Oster Baras

It is a dilemma, a terrible dilemma that hangs over us all.  There are still 134 hostages held by the savage, Hamas terrorists in Gaza.  Thirty-three of these hostages have been confirmed dead, murdered by the Hamas terrorists who kidnapped them.  But there are still 101 hostages that are presumed alive. 

There has been no sign of life from any of them for months now.  Two weeks ago, the IDF, in an incredibly bold and complicated operation, succeeded in liberating two hostages from a house where they were being held by Hamas terrorists.  But operations of this kind are few and far between.  One other hostage was released in a similar operation in October.  Similar operations were attempted but failed over the past few months.

Some weeks ago, the US and France negotiated a deal with Hamas to provide vital medication to the hostages.  Israel submitted the prescription medications for each of the hostages to the intermediaries, together with medication for Hamas.  This deal was concluded without the involvement of Israel and provided 1,000 pills to Hamas for every pill provided for the hostages.  The intermediaries promised to bring proof to Israel that the medication reached the hostages, something that would not only benefit the hostages but would indicate to Israel whether these hostages were still alive.  But that proof was never forthcoming.

Ever since the beginning of the war, the international community has been pressuring Israel to allow food and medication into the Gaza Strip to help civilians there.  The international media is ripe with pictures of “poor Gazans” who are starving, homeless and suffering.  The death toll numbers reported by these same sources refer to more than 20,000 dead Gazans.  However, what these media outlets don’t tell you is that the overwhelming majority of deaths in Gaza are of terrorists. 

Israel has succumbed to this pressure in order to preserve some level of international support for Israel’s war against Hamas, particularly to benefit from US military assistance.  But no one in the international community is willing to ensure that the so-called humanitarian aid actually reaches civilians. 

Here are the facts that you are not seeing in the media:

1. Hamas received enormous quantities of medications to support its terrorists without delivering medications to the hostages. Had they actually given the medication to the hostages, they would have had every interest to prove that they had done so.
2. The overwhelming majority of the food and fuel that has been trucked into Gaza has fallen into the hands of Hamas. They have taken what they need for their own uses and are selling the rest to the civilians of Gaza at exorbitant prices. This is the aid that is supposed to be given to these civilians for free.
3. In a recent IDF military activity in the Hamas tunnels, huge quantities of food were discovered that had been abandoned by Hamas terrorists, as they fled from the IDF. Food that is being hoarded by Hamas rather than being provided to the civilians under their control.
4. By providing Hamas with food and fuel, the international community has been fueling terrorist activity. So long as Hamas can keep their tunnel filter systems operating and their electric generators running, they can continue the fight. And as long as they have plenty to eat, they have no incentive to surrender.

So what is the dilemma?  Israeli representatives are negotiating for a hostage release through intermediaries from Egypt and Qatar, at negotiating sessions hosted by the US.  The US is pressuring Israel to accept terms that include a Palestinian State, the Palestinian Authority governing Gaza, the release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners, including savage murderers, and the cessation of fighting. 

The families of the hostages are desperate.  They line the streets of Israel holding pictures of their loved ones and chanting “Bring them home now.”  I cannot imagine what these families must be going through.  They have no idea if their loved ones are dead or alive.  Those that are alive are certainly suffering.  The women have probably been raped, possibly repeatedly. They are starving.   They are frightened beyond words. And what of those gorgeous red-headed Bibas children — 4 year old Ariel and 1 year old Kfir.  Can they possibly be alive?  Imagine what they must be suffering if they are!

The families are right to be angry and to demand the immediate release of their loved ones.  But what happens when the price for their release is the wholesale release of thousands of terrorists who will most definitely lead the next terror attack against Israel?  And what will happen if we stop the fighting against Hamas, enabling them to rebuild their murderous infrastructure, and plan the next attack against Israel.  1,400 Israelis were murdered on October 7th when thousands of Hamas terrorists surprised families in their quiet, peaceful farming communities, dragging them from their beds, burning them in their homes.  If we release terrorists and stop the fighting, there will certainly be many more October 7ths. 

The families are right — as the clock ticks the likelihood of the hostages surviving diminishes rapidly.  And the government is right — there are red lines that the nation cannot cross.  Their responsibility is to the entire nation, not just to the hostages.

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