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In 2011, Israel signed a deal with Hamas to release 1,027 terrorists in exchange for the return of abducted IDF soldier Gilad Shalit. Among those released was Yahya Sinwar, who later planned the October 7, 2023 massacre, claiming the lives of over 1,000 innocent people and spreading death throughout the region. It rained destruction.
Hamas releases three hostages under Israeli ceasefire agreement
As I waited to board my flight at the San Francisco airport, I heard the faint screams of a woman nearby. Her phone was tuned to Israeli television, and at the first sight of the hostages returning, tears began to flow. On Sunday, Romi Gonen, 24, Emily Damari, 28, and Doron Steinbrecher, 31, were released from the evil Hamas captivity in Gaza and were on their way home. Many hearts and tears surrounded them, not only in Israel but around the world. This is the first step in an excruciating six-week deal under which 33 Israeli hostages who spent more than 470 days in Hamas tunnels in Gaza are to be freed. Even with the end of the first phase of the deal, there are still 64 Israeli and American hostages in Gaza, some dead and some alive.
The photo shows former Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar on the left and his younger brother Mohamed Sinwar on the right. (Photo provided by: TPS/IDF)
The price Israel paid in this agreement was high. Thousands of terrorists and convicted murderers will be released from Israeli prisons despite being convicted of the most horrific acts imaginable. In 2002, a bomb exploded during lunchtime in the Frank Sinatra Dining Hall at the Hebrew University of Mount Scopus in Jerusalem. Nine people were killed and 85 injured. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack. One of those victims was David (Diego) Ladofsky, of blessed memory, who was my colleague in the Israeli Foreign Ministry. David entered the Department's prestigious Diplomatic Candidate Program while earning a graduate degree in Public Administration. On the day the atomic bomb was dropped, he had gone to university to submit his final thesis. The Hamas terror mastermind of the heinous attack and his killer, Waal Qassam, is also among those scheduled to be released.
In one of his infamous speeches, former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah highlighted the fundamental differences between Israel and its enemies. “They (Israel) love life,” he said of Israel, “we worship death.” When the agreement between Hamas and Israel took effect, this statement rang true in the eyes of the world, with divided screens showing a celebration of life in Israel in contrast to the glorification of death in Gaza.
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But the release of terrorists is not just a matter of morality and remorse for crimes committed in the past. The release of this mass of deadly substances into the air is very likely to cost many more innocent lives in the future, as the October 7th massacre proves, and this massacre is the first of its kind in Israel. will forever be etched in our collective memory. Hamas' war crimes and crimes against humanity that day included murder, torture, rape, and kidnapping of children, men, women, and infants. The youngest hostage, nine-month-old Kfir Bibas, celebrated his second birthday on Saturday. My second birthday in Hamas custody. He and his family are likely to be among those released.
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An Israeli Health Ministry report on hostages returned after 52 days of captivity in the first deal contains details of horrific sexual assaults on children, burning of flesh with hot irons, and torture of elderly people. Ta. What will Romi, Emily, and Delon share about the long time they have spent at the hands of pure evil? We don't have the courage to imagine, but we know that we will definitely overcome. Israel's strength is life, and life will overcome all things.
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