It feels strange for us to write the number 600.
Those are the days that 58 hostages, some 20 of them still alive, have been held by Hamas in Gaza, since the cataclysmic events of October 7, 2023.
That’s 600 days in which those living hostages have rarely seen the sky, have suffered physical and emotional torture, and have been deprived of food and water and basic human necessities, based on the testimony of hostages who have been released from captivity.
It’s unfathomable how they have survived for this long under such conditions, and under constant threats from Hamas and bombardments from IDF fighters who have been in Gaza for 18 months, battering Hamas and its infrastructure.
Since the beginning of the war on Hamas, 148 hostages have been returned alive to Israel – 105 released in the 2023 ceasefire, five released by Hamas outside the framework of any ceasefire agreement, eight rescued by the IDF, and 30 released during this year’s ceasefire.
There have also been casualties – in December 2023, Alon Shamriz, Yotam Haim, and Samer Talalka escaped Hamas captivity but were mistakenly shot by IDF soldiers. And in August 2024, Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi, and Ori Danino were executed by Hamas when IDF rescuers came to close to reaching them.
Unlikely an IDF operation will rescue remaining hostages
After 600 days, it’s clear that the likelihood of the remaining hostages being rescued in an IDF operation is virtually nil.The increased military incursion into Gaza, the government hopes, will exert further pressure on Hamas to agree to the proposal known as the Witkoff plan, proposed by President Donald Trump’s envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff.
However, Israel and Hamas interpret the plan differently. Witkoff said that Israel accepted a proposal for Hamas to release 10 living hostages, accept a 60-day ceasefire in which negotiations would take place over ending the war, and receive the remaining live hostages at the end of the days.
Hamas allegedly says it has accepted a plan to release five living hostages, observe a 70-day ceasefire, with US assurances that the war will end, and then release another five living hostages.
With the greatest gratitude toward the US – both under Joe Biden and Trump – for their efforts to bring the hostages home, it’s time to stop these plans and negotiations and move to the end game.
After 600 days, the hostages are out of time. And the nation, torn apart by the war, is out of time and out of energy.Israel has devastated Hamas and destroyed Gaza in the process. Military experts say that Hamas will not pose a lethal threat to Israel for a long time to come.
It's in Israel’s interest to negotiate an end to war
After 600 days, we need to end the war and withdraw from Gaza in exchange for the 58 hostages. Those are the only negotiations that should be taking place. It’s in Hamas’s interest, and it’s in Israel’s interest.
That said, if Hamas does not agree to the plans suggested by the US, supported by Gulf countries, as well as Israel, then the war must continue. Hamas is a terrorist organization, and we cannot treat it as a legitimate diplomatic entity.
If Hamas regroups and once again emerges as a lethal threat to Israel, we know how to deal with it. We’re tired, but we’ve proven over the last 18 months that our fighting forces and our home front are motivated when the aim and goals are clear – to safeguard our safety and borders.
If there’s a threat, we will meet it head-on. But now, after 600 days, our focus must shift 100% to the hostages and ending the war.
We can live with an enfeebled Hamas at our southern border, and handle the challenges if the international community doesn’t stand up and implement the promise it made since the beginning of the war – that Hamas will no longer rule Gaza.
However, we can’t live, heal, and grow as a country if the hostages remain in Gaza and Israel continues to exist under war conditions and edge closer to global isolation.
After 600 days of noble retaliation for the brutal attack of October 7 that has seen our mortal enemy Hamas fall to its knees, there is only one victory that matters: the return of the hostages, while ensuring Israel’s long-lasting security.