SHAHAR AZANI: Hostage deal shows Israel values life, Hamas only death

In 2011, Israel made a deal with Hamas for the release of 1,027 terrorists in exchange for the return of abducted IDF soldier Gilad Shalit. Among those set free was one, Yahya Sinwar, who would go on to plan the October 7, 2023 massacre, which cost the lives of more than a thousand innocent people, raining death and destruction on the entire region.

HAMAS RELEASES 3 HOSTAGES UNDER ISRAEL CEASE-FIRE DEAL

While waiting at a San Francisco airport to board my flight, I could hear the subtle cry of a woman nearby. Her phone was tuned to Israel's TV, and at the first sight of the hostages' return, tears started to flow. On Sunday, Romi Gonen, 24, Emily Damari, 28, and Doron Steinbrecher, 31, were making their way home, released from evil Hamas' captivity in Gaza. Many hearts and tearing eyes were enveloping them in Israel and worldwide. This is the first phase of an excruciating deal, over the course of six weeks in which 33 Israeli hostages are supposed to be freed after more than 470 days in Hamas' tunnels in Gaza. Even as this first phase of the deal is over, there will still be 64 Israeli and American hostages in Gaza, some dead, some alive.

Photo depicts former Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar on left and younger brother Mohammed Sinwar on right. (Photos provided by TPS/ IDF)

The price paid by Israel for this deal is steep. Thousands of terrorists and convicted murderers will be released from Israeli prisons despite having been convicted of the most horrible deeds imaginable. In 2002, during lunchtime, a bomb exploded in the Frank Sinatra cafeteria at the Hebrew University Mt. Scopus in Jerusalem. Nine people were killed and 85 were injured. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack. One of those victims was David (Diego) Ladowski, of blessed memory, who was my colleague at Israel's Foreign Ministry. David joined the ministry's prestigious diplomatic cadet program while pursuing a graduate degree in public administration. On the day of the bombing, he had gone to the university to submit his last paper. His murderer, Waa’l Qassam, the Hamas terrorist mastermind of this heinous attack, is among those set to go free.

In one of his notorious speeches, Hezbollah's former leader, Hassan Nasrallah, shed light on a fundamental difference between Israel and her enemies: "They (Israel) love life," he said of Israel, "whereas we adore death." That statement rang true for the world to see as the deal between Hamas and Israel entered into force, and the split screens presented a celebration of life in Israel contrasted with a glorification of death in Gaza.

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Yet, the terrorists' release is not just an issue of morality and pain for crimes perpetrated in the past. This mass outpouring of death agents into the free air may very well cost more innocent lives down the road, as evidenced by the October 7 massacre, one which shall forever be etched in Israeli collective memory. Hamas' war crimes and crimes against humanity that day included murder, torture, rape, and kidnapping of children, men, women, and babies. Baby Kfir Bibas, the youngest of the hostages, taken at only 9 months old, marked his second birthday on Saturday. A second birthday in Hamas captivity. He and his family are supposed to be among those released.

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Israel's Ministry of Health's report about the hostages who returned in the first deal, after 52 days in captivity, included details of horrible sexual assault against children, charring of the flesh with hot irons, and torture of the elderly. What will Romi, Emily, and Doron share about their much longer time at the hands of sheer evil? We dare not imagine, but we know we shall overcome. Israel's power is life, and life shall overcome all.

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