Intense Emotions upon the Release of the Hostages

January 23, 2025

by: Sarah N. Stern ~ JNS

Thursday, 23 January 2025 | The release of three women hostages held in the hellish nightmare of Gaza for more than 15 months has sparked a whirlwind of emotions among the Israeli, Jewish and international public. On the one hand, one cannot help but feel immense, unbridled ecstasy at witnessing the return of Romi Gonen, 24, Emily Damari, 28, and Doron Steinbrecher, 31, into the hands of their loved ones. Sunday’s dramatic events brought an end to their horrific ordeal, reuniting them with their families and a nation that has been living in extensive trauma since the barbaric Hamas-led attacks of October 7, 2023.

The intensive euphoria is almost palpable in Israel. Witnessing the reunification of mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers with their loved ones, who have had to endure the trauma, the terror and the torment of being held by Hamas terrorists for so very long, has proven to be a moment to remember throughout history.

However, the feelings of joy are not without their geostrategic drawbacks and deeper global complexities. The prolonged period of uncertainty and fear has left a mark on both the individuals directly involved and the broader community of civilized nations.

As the hostages were reunited with their loved ones, lingering concerns have emerged. Who will be released from Israeli prisons? Questions swirl about the circumstances under which the hostages were released and the concessions that have been made to secure their freedom. The fear that such agreements could set a dangerous precedent, potentially encouraging future acts of hostage-taking, looms large. Does this deal encourage more terrorists to abduct innocent Israeli civilians to get the release of more Palestinian terrorists—many with blood on their hands—and enable them to conduct more merciless atrocities?

Does this deal encourage other terrorist groups worldwide, some affiliated with Iran, such as the Houthis, to abduct more innocent civilians? Are we not rewarding and incentivizing this behavior?

And what of the other 94 hostages still in the hellish nightmare of Gaza? We know that the three women released were found in relatively good condition. What of the others? What of 5-year-old Ariel Bibas (who was 4 when kidnapped) and 2-year-old Kfar Bibas (just 9 months old when taken from his home)? What of the seven remaining American hostages? What of all the other young men and women of military age?

We know that more than 1,900 Hamas terrorists will be released in this first phase for 33 Israeli hostages over 42 days. How will this endanger the future security concerns of the civilians and the soldiers in the State of Israel? Although we cherish every single life (while they cherish death), are Iran and its terrorist proxies interpreting this asymmetrical balance as a victory for their cause?

Among the notorious figures to be released is Abdel-Basset Odeh. A member of the Hamas Iz a Din al-Kassam Brigades from the West Bank city of Tulkarem, he murdered 30 people at the Park Hotel in Netanya in 2002 and was sentenced to 29 life terms. Zakaria Zubeidi, a leader of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, organized attacks that included a suicide bombing, murdering six people at a Likud Party branch in Beit She’an. Murderers like Ahmed Barghouti, a close aide to Marwan Barghouti, who is serving 13 life sentences. Arrested in Ramallah in 2002, alongside Barghouti, Ahmed was responsible for supplying weapons to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the military wing of Fatah, where he served as their operational commander.

The Israeli military claims to have successfully eliminated approximately 80% of the Hamas infrastructure in Gaza, killing more than 17,000 members of the terrorist organization since the start of the war. However, Hamas still seems to be in control in Gaza, and 20% of a malignant tumor can metastasize quite rapidly.

The emotional scars left by the experience of captivity—both for the hostages and their families—cannot be ignored. The psychological impacts will undoubtedly require long-term support and care, a reality that tempers the initial joy with a sober recognition of the challenges ahead not just for the hostages and their families, but for the entire State of Israel and the Jewish people.

No matter what supporters of Hamas and other terrorist groups claim as the “root cause” of all of this, and no matter how they try to project the mistakes and failures of all of the sins of Western civilization upon a tiny Middle Eastern nation, we know that October 7 brought unspeakable evil inflicted on this earth that can never be justified and must never recur again. Amid these complex emotions, we have a moral imperative for all civilized human beings to ensure that such events never recur again. And part of doing that is to make certain that Israel always has defensible borders.

While a cause for celebration for anyone who possesses a soul, the release of the hostages also serves as a poignant reminder of the deeper complexities and infinite dangers associated with securing their freedom.

Posted on January 23, 2025

Source: (This article was originally published by the Jewish News Syndicate on January 22, 2025. Time-related language has been modified to reflect our republication today. See original article at this link.)

Source: Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90/jns.org