If news reports and social media posts are to be believed, Israel is on the verge of a deal hopefully to have all the remaining 98 hostages released. In many cases, the hostages are dead already, and what will be returned are their remains, on which DNA tests and autopsies will have to be conducted rapidly so their loved ones can bury them. Some are not Israeli citizens and their bodies will have to be repatriated to Africa, Asia, and Europe. Because of the nature of the Hamas terrorists who have been holding the hostages in captivity for nearly 470 days, before anything can happen, Israel will have to check the bodies for possible explosives as nothing in the wide range of evil can be ruled out from Hamas and other Islamic terrorists.
What’s not known is how many are already dead, and how many hostages who are alive may be executed before they are returned, simply because if Hamas gets a deal they consider favorable, it won’t matter to them who is dead and who is alive. Their currency is inflicting the most trauma and suffering on the greatest number of people. Hamas also has claimed they don’t know where all the hostages are, a fraud that could see the crisis dragged out indefinitely, despite any deal.
It's safe to say that Israelis want ALL the hostages released, but there are wide ranging views on how and under what terms. It’s also safe to say that most Israelis are in the midst of P-P-PTSD: pre, present, and post traumatic stress disorder.
The terms of a possible deal may include releasing thousands of hardened terrorists to return to Gazan streets to perpetuate acts of terror that threaten all Israelis, creating pre-trauma. People who have been victimized by the terrorists to be released are also suffering pre-trauma, not knowing if the animals who shot, stabbed, blew up, or committed any other act of violence against them and their loved ones will ever be safe again. Pre-trauma also exists among those who have sacrificed themselves, or whose loved ones have been killed in combat, worried that their loss will mean nothing as Israel risks agreeing to a situation that will arguably diminish its security, both by releasing terrorists, and not completely eliminating Hamas.
Present-trauma is experienced by the family members of the hostages, dead or alive, whether previously released or still in captivity. As they hold out hopes that all the hostages will be released but seeing reports that just 33 will be (initially), they also know that odds are low of being able to begin having closure on a disaster that befell them and their loved ones, and all of Israel, 15 months ago. How they are going on with life is unimaginable. Knowing that Hamas will continue to exact every ounce of suffering up until the last minute (as they did with the 105 released hostages in November 2023) is incomprehensible.
And post-trauma is experienced by all of us, mixed with present-trauma. One thing that makes moving on in Israel today so difficult is that we are still in the midst of a war. Soldiers continue to be killed on a near daily basis. Terrorists continue shooting and ramming vehicles into us, stabbing, and more.
Rockets and missiles continue to be launched from Gaza (yes, they still have plenty of rockets and the ability to fire them), from Lebanon, and from Yemen as just happened again this week, sending millions of Israelis into their bomb shelters in the middle of the night. We can’t move on because the things that are inflicting trauma are still impacting us, daily.
The slew of rumors and speculation add to all the trauma, along with the inevitable politics. Everyone wants the hostages home, but not everyone wants that at any price, especially if the price will be more dead Israelis. How do we balance essential caution with necessary compassion? What’s the price of saving dozens of lives and bringing closure to their families, with risking even more due to Hamas and other terrorists being strengthened? What would you do?
There are rumors that Prime Minister Netanyahu is giving in on areas he hasn’t felt were in Israel’s best interests until now due to external pressure. He’s balancing doing something that all Israelis want, but differ on how, and over which some members of his governing coalition may try to bring down the government to stop something that they feel is not in Israel’s best interest.
Our hearts break when we think about the hostages’ ordeal, we weep as we pray for them and when we hear the released hostages' unbearable stories from over a year ago. It’s impossible to put ourselves in their situation, or know how we might really respond if it were our child, parent, spouse, sibling, or grandparent being held in captivity.
We also know that the “mastermind of the October 7 massacre, Yahya Sinwar, was one of the terrorists released as part of a previous hostage deal, adding to the trauma of whether we are are just setting ourselves up for more terror and suffering, with Hamas not fully eliminated from Gaza.
Some feel that any deal that Israel’s enemies agree to is a bad deal, because they will never stop trying to massacre innocent Jews and annihilate Israel. The thinking goes that if the terrorists think it’s a good deal, it’s bad for us.
Returning hostages is the key, but it’s noteworthy that there are reports that this deal calls for only one third of the remaining hostages to be returned over several weeks, during which anything could happen that would bring Hamas to violate the deal. This is a third as many as were released in 2023 over a period that was half the time. Basically, Hamas wants to drag this on as long as possible, and to inflict as much trauma as possible.
The other critical element of the deal is if and to what degree it ends the war, or limits Israel’s ability to continue to fight and eliminate the terrorists. Many think that if Israel agrees to end the war without remaining in full control of Gaza to prevent the terrorists from reorganizing and rearming, we lose the bigger war against Islamic enemies who will be emboldened and able to continue to threaten, murder, and kidnap, all under the applause of a deal with global support.
This is just a snapshot at the gut-wrenching situation in which Israel finds itself, adding trauma to the trauma just in the discussion of it all, much less what the outcome will be. The good news is that most Israelis put their trust in God, even amid horrific situations that we have seen and experienced not just for 15 months but for decades. Hopefully, that is a comfort, and that the outcome will be good.