300 days in hell: It's time to bring the hostages home - editorial

Following the horrific events of October 7, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government vowed to hunt down and eliminate everyone in Hamas’s leadership responsible for the brutal massacre.

Three hundred days later, it seems Israel is finally carrying out that promise.

After months of fighting, several top figures in Hamas’s military and political wings have been killed: Saleh al-Arouri, Marwan Issa, Mohammed Deif (supposedly), and now Ismail Haniyeh, whose death in Tehran, attributed to Israel by foreign reports, came hours after senior Hezbollah official Fuad Shukr was killed in Beirut.

This was no simple feat. Haniyeh has been a pillar of Hamas since 1997 and has led the organization’s political bureau since 2017. For years, he has been at the center of every terrorist attack, atrocity, and statement made by Hamas. In many ways, he was the face of Hamas, and his prominence was rivaled only by Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas leader in Gaza.

Now, the head of Hamas is gone; another name was crossed off the list of Israel’s targets.

However, while progress has been made on targeted killings of top terrorist organization leaders 300 days into the war, efforts to come to a deal to free the hostages from captivity in Gaza have been far more stagnant.

300 days, and still no deal

For 300 days, 115 people have remained trapped in the Gaza Strip. For 300 days, their families and loved ones have been crying out for Israel to bring them home. And with no progress being made in negotiations through Qatari and Egyptian mediators, their fates remain uncertain.

In the early days of the war, the shared trauma of October 7 and the desire to see the hostages returned home were what brought the Israeli public together, creating a sense of unity following the heightened social divisions of the judicial reform crisis. But as the war progressed, that unity has ebbed and faded, and tensions and divisions once again characterize this country’s fractured society.

There is still no hostage deal in sight. Hamas may be to blame for that, but until the captives return home and this war comes to an end, these divisions are only going to get worse.

One argument commonly cited by Israeli lawmakers and former IDF officials in recent months is that military pressure is essential to securing the hostages’ freedom. Some circles have met this claim with skepticism, citing a need for increased diplomatic efforts. Others even claim that Netanyahu is intentionally creating obstacles to achieve a deal so his coalition will stay intact.

Whether the need for increased military pressure is correct is up for debate. But one thing is clear: Israel has certainly proven its military capabilities once again.

Israel’s hunting down of the figures it blames for the events of October 7 is proof enough of that. Sure, Sinwar remains alive and well for now, but the rest of Hamas’s leadership has been decimated.

Speaking to 103FM radio, Iranian-Israeli journalist Babak Itzhaki of Iran International explained that the killing of Haniyeh in what was essentially his own bedroom restored Israel’s dignity and deterrence in the eyes of the Iranians.

This is also true of Hezbollah, which Israel has battered heavily over the past 300 days. In particular, the killing of Shukr, whom Israel blames for last week’s deadly Majdal Shams attack, sends a powerful and threatening message: those who commit terror attacks against Israel will not get away with it, no matter where they are.

That is certainly significant military pressure and deterrence, so now, it’s time for Israel to put those cards on the negotiating table.

Israel has proven it can back up its threats, but the hostages are still stuck in Gaza, and killing Haniyeh hasn’t changed that. If Jerusalem has truly restored its deterrence in the eyes of its enemies, it’s time to use that to hammer out a deal.

However, it can only be done with unity.

Before October 7, the debate over judicial reform tore Israeli society apart. It made the country seem weak, as well as neglectful of its borders. Only a unified domestic front can truly match the deterrence of military pressure to restore Israel’s strength in the eyes of the world.

Let’s put our grievances aside. It’s time to bring the hostages home and end their 300-day nightmare.