Palestinians are again paying a heavy price as a result of Hamas’s refusal to release the remaining 59 Israeli hostages (almost half of whom are believed to be dead) held in the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023. On that day, thousands of Hamas terrorists and ordinary Palestinians invaded Israel, murdering 1,200 Israelis and wounding thousands others. Another 251 Israelis – alive and dead – were kidnapped to the Gaza Strip.
Since then, Hamas could have avoided much of the death and destruction it brought on the Palestinians by simply releasing all the hostages, laying down its weapons and relinquishing control of the Gaza Strip.
