Hamas releases hostages during temporary truce
The Issue: Israel and Hamas trading hostages and prisoners during a temporary cease-fire.
Abigail Edan, the American-Israeli girl who turned four while in captivity, witnessed her parents being murdered by Hamas terrorists (“Scarred for Lifetime,” Nov. 28).
She ran to a neighbor’s house but was abducted to Gaza and held hostage for seven weeks. She’ll never be free of the terror that left her orphaned.
Nor will any child in Israel forget that Hamas not only kidnapped infants and toddlers, but also slaughtered hundreds of young people at a music festival and has vowed to repeat the pogroms “again and again” until Israel is annihilated.
How do Israeli parents comfort their children who have nightmares about monsters, when the monsters they fear are real?
Stephen A. Silver
San Francisco, Calif.
The hostage deal is good for the hostages but bad for Israel (“Israel Under Attack,” Nov. 26).
As Hamas keeps stalling, the jelly-spined, lily-livered, weak-kneed wusses of the West will use the “success” of the deal as an excuse. The United States will demand that Israel end the war, thus perpetuating Hamas’ cruel rule, increasing the risk to Israeli citizens and Palestinians, and empowering Iran into the bargain.
Bill Marsano
Manhattan
The headline and cover of the weekend paper speak volumes as to how the hostages felt since their abduction (“Freed From Hell,” Nov. 25).
Freeing the hostages was a great moment for the Israeli Defense Forces. As we hear and learn about the horrific experiences of the hostages, I wonder if the universities that continue to tolerate anti-Israel protests have regrets.
The hostages’ experiences should be a dose of reality for all those college students about the dangers of endorsing a cause just because it’s socially “hip.”
Greg Raleigh
Washington, DC
It’s frustrating that not all the American hostages were released by Hamas.
The Biden administration needs to play hardball with these people.
Matt Engel
Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
So Hamas takes children hostage, while their apologists deny it ever happened. Now that children have been released, we have to wonder what lies they will come up with next.
They need to lie because they can’t acknowledge the truth of their actions.
Joe Zeloof
Hamilton, NJ
The young children who were released face a rough road ahead. What they went through will be with them the rest of their lives.
At some point PTSD will kick in, and the children will face mental-health issues. Hopefully, the Jewish community will rally behind these victims.
Christopher Barbaro
Ludlow, Mass.
With all the pressure on Israel for this cease-fire, it is only fair to point out that there was a cease-fire of sorts before Oct. 7, when Hamas governed Gaza.
Should Israel comply with the calls to extend a cease-fire when terrorists might break the new cease-fire in a month or a year? Will anyone recall this current cease-fire?
Barbara Berg
Belle Harbor
What each party stands to gain from the exchange is anyone’s guess. Obviously, the returning of hostages is a good outcome, but there are other advantages at play. Many suspect that Hamas will take the opportunity to regroup.
Few feel that Hamas will retreat to neighboring countries. A few will stay to give the Israelis a fight.
Yet if the Israeli military completes what it thinks is the wipeout of Hamas and returns home, Hamas could reemerge, and it will all start over again.
John Piccolo
Estero, Fla.
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