OPINION:
At a remembrance event in Los Angeles marking the anniversary of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of Israel and massacre of 1,200 innocents, Israeli parent Eitan Gonen made a heart-wrenching plea: “I want to simply hug my daughter.” His daughter, Romi Gonen, 24, was kidnapped from the Nova outdoor music festival in Israel, one of 251 people Hamas seized as hostages. After 471 days in Hamas’ terror tunnels in Gaza, she was finally released on Jan. 19.
Even as Israeli hostages emerge from Hamas’ captivity, however, the Palestinian terrorist group continues to torment Israel.
Gonen was released with Emily Damari and Doron Steinbrecher. Damari’s hand is now missing two fingers, shot off by her Hamas captors.
On Jan. 25, four more Israelis were released: Daniela Gilboa, Naama Levy, Karina Ariev and Liri Albag, all ages 19 to 20 (“Hamas frees 4 female Israeli soldiers as part of the Gaza ceasefire in exchange for 200 prisoners,” Web, Jan. 25). Along with Agam Berger, they were kidnapped by terrorists who gloated: “These are girls that can get pregnant!” The monsters then brutalized them in Hamas-filmed videos. The soldiers’ return was a great relief; Hamas had falsely claimed on Nov. 23 that Gilboa had been killed in an Israeli airstrike. Yet it was bittersweet, as Hamas failed to release female civilian hostage Arbel Yehud. (Yehud and Berger will be released Thursday.)
For each of the 33 hostages to be returned in the first stage of the ceasefire, Israel must pay a ransom of the release of 30 to 50 terrorists, many serving life sentences for murder. Meanwhile, the fate of dozens more hostages, including Kfir and Ariel Bibas, ages 2 and 5, and their parents Shiri and Yarden, remains unknown.
Six hostages whose fate is known are Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Eden Yerushalmi, Carmel Gat, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi and Ori Danino. Hamas executed them in cold blood in August to prevent Israel from rescuing them.
STEPHEN A. SILVER
San Francisco, California
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