Hamas' death spiral continues.
Israelis are not being conditioned to fear Hamas; we are being conditioned to ensure that Hamas, or any group like it, is never again allowed to thrive and embed itself in power.
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By now, the world has come to expect little in the way of human decency from Hamas.
And yet, even with expectations firmly set at rock bottom, they somehow manage to go lower.
The latest spectacle — mob chaos at Thursday’s hostage handover that almost resulted in a broad daylight lynching — was yet another demonstration of Hamas’ trademark combination of brutality and strategic incompetence.
Even the wildly antisemitic Red Cross had to issue a statement urging such handovers be carried out “in a safe and dignified manner.”
If there is one thing Hamas excels at, it is making the case for its own eradication. Hamas is not merely fighting a war with Israel; it is waging a war against its own future, one that it is decisively losing.
In the realm of public perception, hostage exchanges tend to be a moment for restraint, even for rogue actors. Not so with Hamas. Instead of executing a controlled, dignified process, they opted for anarchy.
The shocking scenes witnessed at the release of Israeli hostages — characterized by mob violence, chaos, and terror — were not just an embarrassment; they were a self-inflicted wound. When even a supposedly transactional event like a hostage release becomes an occasion for brutality, it strips away any remaining pretense that Hamas is a governing body. It is, quite simply, a bloodthirsty gang.
This latest incident highlights a glaring contrast: While Israel upholds the basic dignity of Palestinian prisoners it releases — offering medical treatment, legal rights, and humane conditions — Hamas revels in making hostages suffer until the very last second.
One might think that an organization bent on survival would at least consider how its actions play among its own supporters. And yet, Hamas continues to demonstrate a remarkable ability to alienate not only Israel and the broader international community but also its own people and regional allies.
For all their rhetoric about Palestinian liberation, Hamas has perfected the art of making Palestinian lives worse. Their insistence on using civilians as human shields, turning Gaza into a launchpad for war, and provoking responses that result in devastation only reinforces the perception — both in the Arab world and beyond — that Hamas is less interested in governing than in perpetuating endless suffering.
As the hostages-for-ceasefire deal continues between Israel and Hamas, stories of Hamas’ efforts to regain control Gaza are rampant. For example, Gazans who try to resist the terror group’s reign are, at best, shot in the leg and, at worst, publicly murdered for others to painfully see what their fate will be should they try to resist as well.
Even among Hamas’ supposed backers, patience is wearing thin. Arab nations eager for regional stability are increasingly distancing themselves. When Hamas orchestrates public scenes of violence, they not only reinforce Israel’s justifications for military action; they also make it harder for their own sympathizers to defend them. The message is clear: Hamas is not a resistance movement; it is a death cult.
If Hamas’ goal is to damage or break Israeli morale, they are failing spectacularly. Israeli society — often deeply divided on matters of policy — is nearly unanimous on one point: Hamas must be defeated. Every act of cruelty, every hostage horror story, and every display of lawlessness strengthen Israel’s resolve to ensure that Hamas’ reign of terror comes to a decisive end.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s reaction to the hostage handover debacle was not just outrage; it was a warning. “Whoever dares to harm our hostages will pay,” he declared.
And history suggests that, when Israel makes such statements, they are not idle threats. Just ask Hassan Nasrallah (former secretary-general of Hezbollah), Mohammed Deif (former head of Hamas’ military), Yahya Sinwar (former leader of Hamas in Gaza), Saleh al-Arouri (former Hamas deputy chairman), and Ismail Haniyeh (former chairman of Hamas’ so-called “Political Bureau”). The reason they all have the word “former” before their titles is simple: Israel eliminated each of them, and rightfully so.
But Israel does not just reserve assassinations for high-profile folks like those mentioned above. Innovative facial-recognition technology allows the IDF and Israeli intelligence agencies to pinpoint every person who has ever harmed or attempted to harm Israelis.
For instance, two Hamas terrorists who participated in the killing and abduction of female surveillance soldiers at the Nahal Oz post on October 7th were eliminated by troops before the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip took effect, the IDF said today.
“Hamas members have two options: either die in their positions or surrender unconditionally. There is no third option,” said Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant 10 days after the October 7th attacks.
Hamas operatives, both important and less-important, should not mistake temporary ceasefires or humanitarian pauses for weakness. If anything, they are merely intermissions in what is increasingly looking like Hamas’ final act.
When the Jewish state withdrew its citizens and soldiers from Gaza in 2005, Israel believed that Gazans, when given self-sovereignty, would prefer to develop their own society rather than incessantly attack Israel. That presumption turned out to be disastrous, obviously.
“We had a dinosaur in our backyard,” said a senior Israeli officer, “and our mistake was to feed it.”1
Now, Israel seems to remember that it cannot be powerful if it is fearful. It seems the Palestinian people and their advocates still haven’t grasped this — not even after 16 months.
Every attack Hamas inflicts on Israelis only fortifies Israeli resilience. Each attempt to expose Israeli vulnerability serves to reinforce national determination and justify the continuation of the war beyond any hostage release.
Hamas is waging a misguided psychological battle against a foe that exists only in their imagination. The real adversary, the actual war, only grows stronger with each display of brutality.
Every gesture of bravado meant to intimidate some imagined colonial power merely ensures Gaza’s continued suffering — whether for another year or for an entire generation.
Israelis are not being conditioned to fear Hamas; we are being conditioned to ensure that Hamas, or any group like it, is never again allowed to thrive and embed itself in power. We are coming to the realization that Gaza cannot return to what it once was, regardless of the cost to Gaza itself.
We are also learning that the best way to neutralize the impact of hostage-taking is to reduce the number of prisoners in Israeli custody. That terrorists in prison are a liability, but in the ground, they become a strategic asset.
Hamas’ ability to sabotage the Palestinian cause is boundless.
And like every generation before them, they only come to understand these fundamental truths when it’s already far too late.
“Hamas Doesn’t Want a Cease-Fire.” The Atlantic.
Hamas members must be eliminated via the death penalty if captured and tried for capital offenses and not incarcerated
"One might think that an organization bent on survival would at least consider how its actions play among its own supporters. And yet, Hamas continues to demonstrate a remarkable ability to alienate not only Israel and the broader international community but also its own people and regional allies."
Beg to differ. Hamas is playing to its audience, the Gazan, Judean, and Samarian Arabs. The goal is to show more than that they have not been defeated or even diminished by Israel. It is to show that as the victors they deserve to be the leaders of all the local Arabs, i.e. self denominated Palestinians.