JERUSALEM, Israel: The capture of dozens of Israeli soldiers and civilians, including elderly women and children, by Hamas militants has ignited profound emotions in Israel, posing an unprecedented dilemma for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government.
Hamas had previously abducted a lone young conscript, Gilad Shalit, back in 2006. Shalit’s captivity captivated Israeli society for an extended period, evolving into a nationwide fixation that led Israel to initiate extensive bombardments of the Gaza Strip. Ultimately, as part of the negotiated deal for Shalit’s release, Israel freed more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, including many who had been convicted of fatal attacks on Israelis.
This time, Hamas, along with the smaller but audacious Palestinian Islamic Jihad, have abducted dozens of Israeli civilians and soldiers as part of a multipronged, shocking attack on Saturday. The hostage situation adds immense pressure on Netanyahu and his hawkish, far-right allies, who are already facing demands to respond to the killing of over 700 Israelis in the Hamas attack.
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Netanyahu’s vow to unleash the full might of the Israeli military on Hamas raises concerns about the safety of Israeli civilians scattered across the densely populated Gaza Strip, their locations undisclosed.
Michael Milstein, a former head of the Palestinian department in Israeli military intelligence, explained, “It will limit the directions and areas that the IDF can be active. It will make things much more complicated.”
Locating Israeli hostages in Gaza, a challenge Israeli intelligence agencies faced during the Shalit case, presents further hurdles. Despite Gaza’s small size, constant aerial surveillance, and its proximity to Tel Aviv, the territory remains somewhat opaque to Israeli intelligence agencies.
Yaakov Amidror, a former national security adviser to Netanyahu, noted, “We don’t know where Israelis are sheltered,” but emphasized that the issue of captured Israelis would not deter Israel from taking action against Hamas until it is eliminated.
Hamas has already demanded the release of all Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, estimated at around 4,500 detainees, according to Israeli human rights group B’Tselem, in exchange for the Israeli captives.
The fate of prisoners holds significant emotional weight for Palestinians, with an estimated 750,000 Palestinians having passed through Israeli prisons since Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Mideast war. Most Palestinians have either spent time in Israeli jail or have close connections to detainees, whom they view as heroes. The Palestinian Authority, which administers parts of the occupied West Bank, allocates approximately 8 percent of its budget to support prisoners and their families.
Despite Hamas‘ demands, Israel’s current government, led by far-right religious ministers, including West Bank settlers, staunchly opposes any actions seen as capitulation to the Palestinians. Gayil Talshir, a political scientist at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, emphasized that there is “absolutely no chance” that the current government would agree to the release of Palestinian prisoners.
In response to the crisis, Israel’s Finance Minister, settler leader Bezalel Smotrich, demanded a brutal response at a Cabinet meeting, stating, “In war you have to be brutal. We need to deal a blow that hasn’t been seen in 50 years and take down Gaza.”
However, the risk of Israeli civilians becoming casualties of relentless Israeli bombardment or languishing in Hamas captivity while Israel gets entangled in an indefinite campaign poses a political threat to Netanyahu.
Ehud Yaari, a veteran Israeli political commentator, highlighted the seriousness of the dilemma, noting the possibility that Hamas might threaten to execute hostages regularly if a ground operation commences.
Israel’s history has shown the extreme sensitivity of public opinion when it comes to hostages, underscoring the potential impact of abduction in a country where 18-year-olds are conscripted for military service, and the army prides itself on never abandoning its own.
Israelis with loved ones among the hostages are urging the government to prioritize their return, setting a precedent for the intense public pressure campaigns that have previously led to disproportionate exchanges, such as the Schalit deal in 2011.
The dilemma facing Netanyahu is challenging, but for Israelis with family members in captivity, the answer is clear: prioritize the return of their loved ones, no matter the cost.”
![NEW YORK: Pakistan's former Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, leading Pakistan’s high-level parliamentary delegation, on Tuesday warned that India's aggressive actions pose a serious threat to peace in South Asia and urged the international community to take note of India's aggressive conduct. Bilawal was addressing a press conference at the United Nations headquarters in New York on recent regional developments after the military conflict between India and Pakistan. The Pakistani delegation is in New York to present Pakistan’s stance on the military escalation with India and to challenge New Delhi’s narrative at the global level. The visit is part of Pakistan’s sustained diplomatic outreach to brief key UN stakeholders on the alarming regional situation. The Pakistani delegation is also scheduled to arrive in Washington today, where it plans to engage with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, other senior officials, lawmakers, and think tanks till June 6. The team will also visit London and Brussels. Speaking at the press conference, Bilawal said that he wanted to use the opportunity to share Pakistan’s perspective on the recent military conflict with India in the wake of the Pahalgam attack and the way forward. Bilawal said that the “illegal strikes” launched by India as part of its ‘Operation Sindoor’ were “in violation of the UN Charter, international law”. He said the attacks had targeted civilian infrastructure, places of worship, energy infrastructure and innocent women and children. He said India had used the April 22 terrorist attack in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir’s (IIOJK) Pahalgam as a pretext to launch the attack inside Pakistan. Following the Pahalgam incident, Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif offered publicly to India that Pakistan was ready to be part of any impartial international investigation into this attack. “We did so because we were confident, our hands were clean and we had nothing to do with this terrorist attack. “We expressed our sympathy with the victims of terrorism and Pakistan has consistently and unequivocally condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations,” he said, adding that PM Sharif had immediately expressed Pakistan’s willingness to India and the global community to be part of any impartial international investigation. “Indian government refused Pakistan's offer and chose instead to conduct their illegal strikes. Pakistan only then acted in self-defence, we never initiated any violence against India,” Bilawal said. Bilawal emphasised that Pakistan never initiated hostilities against India but responded to Indian aggression by downing six Indian fighter jets. "The Pakistani military had responded with precision the night of the first Indian attack and only targeted and downed six planes because we believed those were the ones to release their load on Pakistan”. He stated that US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio played a vital role in achieving a ceasefire during heightened tensions between the nuclear-armed South Asian neighbours. “We’ve seen during the course of this conflict how quickly the escalation ladder between our two countries rose and the concern is that the next time there is such an incident, there may not be time for the international community to intervene before things get a lot worse. That is why it is absolutely important for Pakistan and the international community to continue to pursue dialogue and diplomacy as the only viable path to peace.” He said Pakistan’s position was to hold a “comprehensive dialogue” with India that would include the issue of terrorism as well. The head of the Pakistani delegation said that no civilized nation can support the use of water as a weapon and urged the international community to play its part, questioning, "What would be the global reaction if someone’s lifeline was cut off?" He stressed that Pakistan has paid a heavy price in the fight against terrorism and has suffered the most. “The single largest number of terrorist attacks that take place in any one country is Pakistan. The single largest number of victims of terrorism is Pakistan. I myself have suffered at the hands of terrorists. My mother [Benazir Bhutto] was assassinated by the terrorists.” Bilawal also criticised India for targeting water reservoirs and civilian areas, including mosques, during its attacks. Calling negotiations the only path to peace, Bilawal reiterated that the unresolved Kashmir dispute remains the root cause of regional instability. He urged the global community to take notice of India’s aggressive conduct.](https://wenewsenglish.com/storage/2025/06/Bilawal-Bhutto-Zardari-300x180.jpg)
