The First Street Journal has previously stated that holding the hostages is the only weapon that the Hamas terrorists have left, and that, as harsh as it sounds, Israel must forget about the fate of the hostages and pursue its course of completely destroying Hamas. The terrorists’ military leader in Gaza — the vast majority of the Hamas leadership are already out, living their lives safely in Lebanon and Qatar — Yahya Sinwar is in power because the Israelis stupidly exchanged him, and over a thousand other ‘Palestinians’ in jail, for one Israeli soldier held hostage.
But it’s not an easy policy for Israeli families to accept. Not only are they agitating for the return of their hopefully still living relatives, there’s even pressure now from a relative for the return of her known-to-be-dead parents’ bodies.
Hamas killed my parents 8 months ago. US and world leaders, help us bring them home.
For 83 excruciating days, we kept hope that my parents were among the living hostages.
by Iris Weinstein Haggai | Monday, June 17, 2024 | 5:13 AM EDTGad Haggai, Iris Weinstein Haggai, and Judy Weinstein, on their undated morning walk at Kibbutz Nir Oz. Photo provided by Iris Weinstein Haggai. Click to enlarge.
Eight months – 248 days – and the international community has watched Hamas hold my parents’ remains hostage while terrorism wins.
This time of year is filled with opportunities to express gratitude and love for parents – with Mother’s Day in May, Father’s Day in June, and the United Nations-proclaimed Global Day of Parents on June 1. These holidays are about acknowledging the hard work and sacrifices parents make for their families, but for me and my three siblings, they are now accompanied by unfathomable tragedy.
My parents – two of the eight Americans held hostage in Gaza – were on their morning walk through the Kibbutz Nir Oz fields on Oct. 7 when hundreds of Hamas terrorists stormed the area and dragged my parents to Gaza.
More than eight months since Oct. 7, and not a single international aid organization has visited the hostages. The International Committee of the Red Cross has not provided any proof of life, medicine or care. It took the U.N. Security Council more than seven months to call a meeting for the hostages. Women’s organizations have stayed silent, even after new video footage showed Hamas torturing seven female hostages.
Can we tell the truth here? Miss Haggai is a woman in Western Civilization, with great concerns for innocent victims, but it ought to be clear to anyone that Hamas are not at all civilized in any way that westerners would recognize. CNN reported, on Thursday, June 13th that a senior Hamas official, Osama Hamdan, safely hiding in Beirut, stated that no one really knows how many of the 120 remaining hostages are even still alive. And when an Israeli commando raid did rescue four hostages alive, the pro-‘Palestinian’ left didn’t celebrate that, but lamented how many of their captors were killed in the rescue.
As we passed the 200-day mark, an 18-country coalition led by the United States issued a joint statement demanding the immediate release of all hostages. It was one of the most powerful responses to the hostage crisis since Oct. 7. Then, President Biden called on the world to pressure Hamas into accepting a deal, stating, “Everyone who wants peace now must raise their voices and let the leaders know they should accept this deal.” Just days later, the G-7 Leaders issued a statement calling on Hamas to accept this deal.
This is momentum, and the international community cannot let it go unharnessed. We need to use it to get our loved ones home and to work toward peace in the region. As U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in Cairo this week, the regional governments must “press Hamas to say yes.”
Every one of these proposals contains the same things: that Hamas release the remaining hostages, and their remains, in exchange for Israel releasing captured ‘Palestinian’ terrorists and criminals, and that Hamas be allowed to survive as a guerrilla force. All that does is what the prisoner exchange that sprung Mr Sinwar did: free crazies who are determined to keep killing Jews.
Time has run out; the fate of the hostages can change every second. It’s been too long. Let me and my siblings mourn the loss of our parents. Please, to all of the world leaders, give us the chance to heal and live the life they wanted for us. Bring them home.
If Israel finally drops concern for the hostages, it’s obvious that Hamas will try to kill all of the surviving ones, however many there still are. But Miss Haggai and her siblings can already mourn the loss of their parents, even though their decomposed bodies aren’t present for them to bury. Yes, the fate of the still surviving hostages can change at any second, but if Israel allows Hamas to survive, if Israel does not track down and capture or kill every last surviving Hamas leader, and if Israel exchanges known criminals and terrorists for roughly a hundred innocent hostages, all that will be accomplished is to put Hamas back on a footing to attack Israel again and again and again.