by Emmanuel Shiloh, editor of the Besheva newspaper, translated by Hillel Fendel.
The release of some of the hostages is a sacred goal, achieved in the merit of the successful military campaign – but the destruction of Hamas is absolutely critical to the very existence of the State of Israel.
1. The release of some 60 of our brothers and sisters from Hamas captivity is primarily a clear sign of the great success of our forces' successful ground operation in Gaza City and throughout the northern Gaza Strip.
Each of our hostages comes at the price of three freed Palestinian terrorist prisoners, not including – for now – those who actually murdered Jews. This is a very problematic price ethically, as well as a security danger – but it is still a low price compared to other exchanges in the past. Most notably, our soldier Gilad Shalit's freedom was achieved after over five years at the price of more than 1,000 (!) terrorist prisoners. Among them, incidentally or not, was current Hamas PalestiNazi chieftain arch-murderer Yihye Sinwar. He clearly would not have agreed to such a low price in the current deal if his military situation were not so desperate, threatening not only his own life but also that of the entire Hamas regime in Gaza.
2. The ground attack in Gaza, with great Divine help, support from the Israel Air Force, and cooperation from many different IDF units, has dealt Hamas a decisive blow. We have killed thousands of terrorists and destroyed weapons and arms production facilities on a huge scale. We have conquered fortified strongholds and large areas, and taken over symbols of government such as the Gaza parliament building, the main court, and the particularly problematic Shifa Hospital. Yes, dozens of wonderful young soldiers and commanders have paid with their lives – each of whom was an entire world unto himself – but the number of casualties is significantly lower than what we feared and what our enemies hoped.
The cruel Sinwar and his henchmen also understand that even the elaborate tunnels enterprise that they have built up for years so that they can hide out like rats [keep in mind that Hizbullah chief Nasrallah has reportedly not left his bunker in Beirut since 2006, for fear of Israeli assassination] will not last long. It has been severely damaged over the weeks of war, and with G-d's help our forces will soon totally destroy it. And so, just days before Israel was to complete its conquest of above-ground Gaza and begin dealing in earnest with the underground Gaza, suddenly Hamas showed its willingness to release hostages at bargain prices. This is because what most interests Sinwar is not the release of his Hamas comrades, but a ceasefire.
3. Israel set for itself two major objectives in the current war: the destruction of Hamas, both militarily and politically, and the release of all the 240 or so Israelis and others taken hostage on Simchat Torah, October 7th. Israel has made good progress in both these areas, showing that the military pressure helps advance the goal of freeing our hostages.
Sinwar is hoping that the ceasefire will extricate him from his hopeless predicament. Now that he has achieved a ceasefire of five or six days, he is hoping for a permanent ceasefire and an end to the war altogether. Reports are that he has offered to free every single last hostage to that end. But as Finance Minister Betzalel Smotrich has said, such a deal would mean the end of Israel – for it would put Israel's weakest points on display for the entire Arab world to see.
At present, Sinwar is hoping to offer ten additional hostages for each extra day of ceasefire. The Israeli government has already approved up to ten ceasefire days for this purpose; more than that would require another Cabinet meeting and vote. It will not be easy for the Netanyahu government to reject a proposal for the release of additional hostages, even at the cost of more ceasefire days. And then, the longer the ceasefire lasts, the international pressure to make it permanent and final will only increase.
At the same time, it comes as no surprise that Hamas is utilizing this ceasefire period to reorganize and rearm its battered and scattered forces. This is liable to be no small threat to the IDF when the fighting resumes.
4. No one disputes the fact that by agreeing to these days of ceasefire, Israel has taken upon itself a heavy risk, on behalf of the sacred goal of the release of some of the hostages and their return to their families. It can hopefully be assumed that before the IDF leaders encouraged the government to agree to this deal, they checked carefully and found that we have the ability to avoid harm to our soldiers - both during the ceasefire and also after Hamas has had the chance to reorganize before the fighting resumes.
As far as Israel is concerned, the greatest danger we face is that the ceasefire will in fact be extended and that the war will end without a decisive defeat and destruction of Hamas. We simply cannot tolerate a situation in which Hamas continues to present a security danger to the communities of the Gaza envelope that were so cruelly targeted on Oct. 7th – and thus to Israel in general. Sinwar entered into the current agreement with the hope that it would lead to a permanent ceasefire, and the Israeli government promised that this would not happen. The upcoming days will tell which side was smarter.
5. Let us present the current dilemma in the most biting and painful manner: If Hamas would actually offer us the immediate return of all the captives in exchange for the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and a years-long ceasefire, should Israel accept it? Keep in mind, as noted, that hints to this effect have already been received.
This would present a head-on clash between the war's two objectives, because in such a case, the hostages would be released, but Hamas would be far from destroyed.
There are those who hold that the goal of freeing the hostages must take priority over all else. Yet, despite the pain and difficulty in saying this, they are wrong – bitterly so. The terrible blow that Israel suffered that black Shabbat of Simchat Torah leaves us with absolutely no option of leaving this ruthless Palestinazi Amalekite in the region as a viable entity.
Our own viability as a state is nil if we do not engrave in the consciousness of all our many enemies that whoever attacks us so cruelly, directly decrees upon himself death and destruction.
Every Arab country in the wider region, from Yemen to Lebanon to Iran, as well as those who have signed peace treaties with us, will be looking closely at our reaction. They will want to know if, though we were caught by surprise, we still know how to act as the regional superpower we claim to be - or if we are truly only a paper tiger and they can start planning our destruction, Heaven forbid.
There is no greater Torah ideal and commandment than the redemption of captives – except for the redemption of the entire State of Israel from an existential threat.
6. These days, as we receive dozens of our captives with both joy and tears, our military commanders and forces in Gaza will require every last ounce of patience and restraint, in order to hold back at present but still retain total readiness for whatever might come – as well as preparedness to resume their brave and successful fight on short notice. They can take comfort in the knowledge that the return of the women and children to their families was achieved only in the merit of their dedication, courage, and prowess. They know that the entire Nation of Israel stands behind them in prayer and with support and admiration, and eagerly awaits the resumption of the successful offensive as soon as possible.
We are all of the hope and prayer that all of the captives, including the soldiers, be released quickly and without the need to pay dangerous prices. We similarly hope and pray that the supreme goal of the campaign will soon be realized: the obliteration of the memory of the Hamas Amalekite enemy from under the heavens and from under the earth.