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STOP FANTASIZING ON A HEROIC MILITARY OPERATION. ISRAEL MUST STRIKE A
HOSTAGE DEAL, NOW  
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Noa Limone
January 22, 2024
Haaretz
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_ About two months after the hostage exchange deal blew up, we can
state with certainty that the decision to stop it was a terrible
mistake. We must say clearly that the hostages have to be freed
through a deal. That is the only way. _

Families of hostages call for the immediate release of hostages, in
Tel Aviv on Saturday night, January 20., Credit: Alexandre
Meneghini/Reuters // Haaretz

 

In a shocking interview with journalist Ilana Dayan, war cabinet
member Gadi Eisenkot revealed that he supported continuing the deal
even though Hamas had violated it. Most members of the security
cabinet opposed doing so.

The hostages and their families are paying a heavy price for that
opposition. At least 16 hostages have been killed in captivity
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and the release of the others seems more distant than ever. Eisenkot
has also paid a terrible personal price. His son Gal was killed 
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an operation to recover the bodies of dead hostages about a week after
the deal blew up.

Had Israel shown flexibility and not tried "to educate" Hamas' leader
in the Gaza Strip, Yahya Sinwar, many more hostages would have
returned and at a much lower price than Hamas is demanding now – an
end to the fighting, an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, international
guarantees that Hamas will remain in power and the release of all
Palestinian prisoners and detainees in Israel.

But we need to learn from the mistakes of the past and realize that we
must negotiate with Hamas, even over this proposal. Given the way the
Israel Defense Forces is treading water in Gaza, ending the fighting
isn't such a terrible idea.

The public is slowly coming to understand that the vows to topple
Hamas' government and destroy the organization won't be kept
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And in the end, we'll also have to realize that Hamas will presumably
be part of Gaza's future government.

The idea that it's possible to free the hostages through heroic
military operations is also a ridiculous fantasy. Such operations will
only endanger the lives of both the hostages and the soldiers. The
fighting is portrayed as the thing that made the first hostage deal
possible. But whether that's true, it's clear that now, contrary to
the claims of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, that is no longer the
case because the fighting is now less intense.

The head of the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, Ronen Tzur,
announced that he currently intends to focus on demanding an end to
humanitarian aid to Gaza as a way to pressure Hamas. But this would
also be a mistake.

First, that's because it is immoral and illegal to starve civilians
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Second, the international community, which in any case is criticizing
Israel harshly for allegedly starving Gaza's residents and committing
genocide against them, would be given proof that it is right. And
there's no guarantee that U.S. President Joe Biden would rush to
Israel's aid if we did take this step, as it blatantly defies
America's demands.
 
Palestinians line up for food in Rafah, Gaza Strip, in December. 
(Credit: Fatima Shbair /AP  //  Haaretz)
Third, it should already be clear that punishing Gaza's residents to
create pressure on Hamas is ineffective. The terrorist organization is
indifferent to Gazans' suffering. Aren't the deaths of more than
25,000 Gazans (many of them women and children) sufficient proof of
this? It's also wrong to think that starving Hamas terrorists would
make them surrender. Hamas has nothing to lose. Nor is there any point
in hoping that Gaza's starved, desperate residents will rebel against
Hamas if we just make life harder for them. Polls show that
Palestinian support for Hamas has only grown since the war began.

Finally, ending humanitarian aid would make the hostages' already
difficult situation even worse. Returned hostages have said they
received less and less food as the fighting went on.

It's not enough to demonstrate, wear special dog tags or yellow
ribbons and chant "now!" We must say clearly that the hostages have to
be freed through a deal. That is the only way.

* Ceasefire
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* Hostages
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* Hamas
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* Benjamin Netanyahu
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* Israel
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* Gaza
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* Palestine
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* Israel-Gaza War
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* Genocide
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* Israeli bombing
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* Israeli airstrikes
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* IDF
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* Gaza deaths
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* war crimes
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