Humanism under fire: under what conditions will Israeli hostages return and Palestinians emigrate from Gaza

IA “FAKT” already wrote that Israel and Hamas continue the diplomatic struggle for a new agreement regarding the hostages against the background of ongoing hostilities in the Gaza Strip. Israel offered a new truce of 40-50 days in exchange for the release of about half of the 24 hostages who are believed to be still alive. At the same time, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that, despite diplomatic efforts, military pressure on Hamas will continue. As part of a broader deal, Hamas leaders may be allowed to leave Gaza, but Israel is insisting that the militants disarm, a demand the group strongly rejects.

In response, Hamas stated about the readiness to release all Israeli hostages on the condition of reaching a long-term ceasefire and the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from the enclave. A representative of the group, Hazem Qasem, emphasized that Hamas will not accept any conditions for disarmament or withdrawal from Gaza, calling such demands “psychological warfare.” According to him, the exchange of prisoners can be carried out in one stage, and to demonstrate the seriousness of its intentions, Hamas is ready to increase the number of freed Israelis.

Against this background, Netanyahu reported, which is working with the US on a new plan to release the hostages. He noted that the preliminary agreement on the release of 25 people was reached thanks to the active participation of Steve Witkoff, a representative of President Trump. Netanyahu added that he is in daily contact with the relatives of the prisoners, responding to criticism of the lack of attention to their plight. Some of the families appealed directly to Trump with a request to help in the negotiations. Last month, eight freed hostages even visited the White House, calling for the release of others.

At the same time, the Prime Minister of Israel voiced the idea that he discussed with Trump: to give the Palestinians the opportunity to leave Gaza and emigrate to other countries that are ready to receive them. At the same time, the United States maintains a tough stance on Hamas — Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed that Washington is seeking to completely eliminate the group, in line with President Donald Trump’s policy.

Hostages as a mirror of power: betrayed trust, preserved dignity

When the state loses its monopoly on hope, its subjects look for salvation outside the institutions. This is exactly what is currently being observed in Israel, a country that has risen from the ashes of the Holocaust and is holding on to the oath of “never again.” But today this oath is cracking. Not because the enemy is stronger, but because indifference has settled in the heart of the government. She, not Hamas, is today the main threat to trust between citizens and the state.

Currently, 136 hostages remain in the hands of Hamas. These are 136 families whose lives stopped a year and a half ago. Among the hostages are also foreigners, in particular citizens of the USA, Thailand, and the Philippines. But the majority are Israelis, whom the Netanyahu government views as an uncomfortable subject rather than a moral obligation.

Those who were released returned to another country that forgot them. In January, Hamas handed over three women to the International Red Cross. They stayed in captivity for 471 days. Four more were later released as part of a deal in which Israel handed over 200 Palestinian prisoners. For Netanyahu it was an exchange, for the families it was rather a redemption.

But there are families who are tired of being statistics. They turned to Donald Trump. It is quite a specific situation when Jews – citizens of Israel – were looking for protection not from his government, but from the President of the United States. This is not a gesture of confidence in Trump. It is a cry of despair. It is an attempt to make the world see what Jerusalem is ignoring.

Relatives of the hostages disrupt the Knesset session. They break in to the deputies’ offices and demand one thing – return ours. In a country where military service is a sacred duty, this is not just a protest – it is a moral judgment against the government.

The released do not return to the home, but to the silence of trauma. There is medical and psychological help, but there is a limit to what even the best clinic can heal. Reintegration centers work, doctors help, psychotherapists silently listen to heartbreaking stories. But the main thing is not treatment, but memory.

A hostage story is not a war story. This is a story about political will. When the state says: “We can’t”, she often means: “We don’t want to“. And in this inaction is the greatest betrayal. Because being an Israeli means knowing that you will not be abandoned. If you are abandoned, then who is your state?

Trump as a mission: between the state, shadow and ambition

In politics, there are official positions and unofficial roles, the importance of which is often much greater. Donald Trump isn’t just back in the White House—he’s back in a story in which, according to his logic, there is only one protagonist. That is why his participation in the negotiations between Israel and Hamas was not unexpected. It was inevitable.

When Trump was elected president last November, he had not yet taken the oath of office. But this did not prevent him from acting loudly and decisively. He did not wait for the inauguration, but created a parallel administration that looks more like a production center than a state apparatus. And it was in this structure that the team for the “peacekeeping mission” in the Middle East was formed. This is not diplomacy, but rather political theater, where actors act faster than their roles are established.

The role that Steve Witkoff played in these negotiations is another decade will discuss historians A businessman, a developer, a person without diplomatic experience, but with Trump’s unlimited trust. His appointment as a “special envoy” did not have legal force, but it was important. Because it was he who conducted negotiations with mediators, it was he who transmitted signals from Trump and it was he who negotiated with those who were not officially at the negotiating table. This is the case when a private person acts in the interests of a state that is not yet governed by its patron.

There is no evidence that Trump directly talked with representatives of Hamas. But that is not important. Direct contact is rare in Middle Eastern politics. Everything depends on calls, promises, hints and signals. And here Trump is a master. His connections with the Qatari emirate, where the political wing of Hamas is located, his influence on the Israeli leadership, his charisma, which still works in Washington and Tel Aviv – these are the “channels”.

Trump does not just seek to control foreign policy. He wants to rewrite its script so that the United States once again becomes a nation that decides, not consults. And in the story of the Israeli hostages, he sees not a tragedy, but an opportunity. The ability to return not people, but control. This is no longer Reagan or Clinton style politics. This is a monarchy without a crown. And if Trump is real can to return, the question is only one thing: who does he really return — the hostages or himself to history?

Hostages to the System: Why Israel is Rebelling Against Netanyahu

There is not just a political crisis in Israel. Because when the government, which for decades built itself on the idea of ​​protection, turns out to be unable to protect, release, or apologize, it is no longer a crisis of confidence. This is the end of the monopoly on meaning.

The loudest sounds the voice of Yair Lapid, the leader of the Yesh Atid opposition party. He says simply: we have a government that is based only on fear and political bargaining. In his eyes — and in the eyes of hundreds of thousands of protesters — Benjamin Netanyahu is no longer prime minister, but a figure holding power solely through blackmailing the system.

There are also opposition from within the coalition itself. Defense Minister Yoav Galant – from the same Likud party – openly called stop judicial reform, which became one of the main causes of mass protests. For this, they tried to release him, but even the military personnel did not want to carry out this order.

For several months, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem have been burning not from rockets, but from rage. These are not rallies, but people’s impotence turning into resistance. People come out with Israeli flags, with portraits of hostages, with slogans that are no longer political, but moral: “Bring back our people” and “Go away”.

The topic of hostages became a weapon in the hands of the Israeli prime minister. After each release – briefings, loud statements, promises to “destroy Hamas”… And – silence. There are no new layoffs. There is a television picture, rhetoric, narrative: “I am a savior.” But this is rhetoric for the electorate, not for expectant mothers.

Resettlement under the guise of humanity: why Gazans have no choice

In history, there will always be a reason to say that “people themselves wanted to go.” Someone — from Berlin to Siberia, someone — from Crimea to Uzbekistan. Now — from Gaza to unknown shores. Under a new banner, but with the same question: can there be a “choice” when you are destroyed?

During Netanyahu’s February visit, Trump caused international outcry by proposing a radical vision for the Gaza Strip: evict the entire Palestinian population — more than two million people — and turn the region into a luxury Mediterranean resort. Such an idea actually means supporting forced evictions and clearing the territory of the indigenous population.

Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir says: Palestinians have the “opportunity to leave” to those countries that are ready to accept them. Minister Israel Katz creates a directorate for “facilitating voluntary emigration”. But this is not an evacuation, not a rescue. This is a demographic strategy. Those who survived the bombings get a one-way ticket. This is the same “choice” that the residents of Aleppo or Grozny once had.

Words do not always match reality. Gaza has become a target zone for the systematic destruction of infrastructure. Houses, schools, hospitals — everything is destroyed or uninhabitable. Or there are a “voluntary” choice to leave a land where there is no water, bread, or electricity?

The UN is clear: the forced displacement of the civilian population is a war crime. Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch—everyone they beat on the alarm This is not evacuation, but ethnic cleansing with a bureaucratic facade.

The word “overpopulation” is a new tool in the old arsenal. They say: there are 2 million people in 360 square kilometers in Gaza. That is, the reason is not politics, but geography. But when it comes from the mouths of government officials, who at the same time destroy schools and abandon reconstruction plans, this is not analytics, but ideology. Humanism that suggests fleeing from the rubble instead of stopping the bombing is not humanism. This is a replacement technology. And if the world had not been silent in 1948, we would not be explaining today why millions of refugees are no longer needed by anyone.

…Next time we will focus on the cost of this war. How many people were killed, injured, how many were forced to leave their homes? What is the current state of the infrastructure – is there access to water, how does the electricity work, what is happening with the medical system?

Do the UN, the Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders manage to get through, who is blocking the movement, how are the negotiations going with the mediation of Qatar, Egypt, Turkey?

Is a new cease-fire regime possible and what is the price of such a truce — in a political and diplomatic sense? What demands does Hamas make in exchange for the release of the hostages, and why are these demands presented differently in the Israeli, American, Arab, and Russian media? What messages are imposed by various information flows — from heroization and attempts at rehabilitation to frank devaluation?

Tetyana Viktorova