Hamas must release all hostages immediately

opinionHamas must release all hostages immediately

The grotesque violence committed by Hamas included the abduction of more than 200 people, including infants and seniors.

The horrific attacks in southern Israel by Hamas on October 7 were well-documented by that terrorist organization, who proudly posted videos of their savagery for the world to see.
More than 1,400 Israelis were slaughtered and thousands more injured, including babies who were beheaded, the elderly and disabled shot dead, and victims so riddled with automatic bullets that their faces were torn apart.
The grotesque violence committed by Hamas included the abduction of more than 200 people, including infants and seniors.
Hamas has so far freed only four hostages, an American mother and daughter, and two Israeli women, ages 79 and 85, all for what Hamas called humanitarian grounds. Its begrudging benevolence is a start. But it is not nearly enough.
All of the hostages must be immediately released.
It’s not my opinion. It is a core tenet of international law, which prohibits the deliberate murder and abduction of innocent civilians. Even in war, individuals are protected. If the individual is a combatant, he or she is accorded protection as a prisoner of war; if the individual is a civilian, he or she is protected by Article 34 of the 1949 Geneva Convention IV, which states that the taking of hostages is prohibited.
In addition, the International Committee of the Red Cross defines the taking of hostages as detaining someone to “compel a third party to do or to abstain from doing any act as an explicit or implicit condition for the release, safety or well-being of the hostage.”
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights called on Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist groups to “immediately and unconditionally release all civilians who were captured and are still being held.”
Even the UN Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, never a friend to Israel, called the taking of hostages “a violation of international law” that “constitutes an international crime.”
One might argue it is naïve to expect that a terrorist organization like Hamas, which revels in the violence and depravity it inflicted on innocent people, would care about international law and basic human rights.
To be sure, Hamas demonstrated that its warped ideology has redefined how we view evil in today’s world. It is guided by two key goals: the elimination of Israel as a state and the annihilation of the world’s Jews. Yet, in taking hostages—as well as in their killing spree—Hamas did not discriminate. A sizable number of victims came from Asian nations, people who found opportunity in Israel while helping the Jewish State thrive.
Approximately two-thirds of the 30,000 Filipinos as well as many of the 8,000 Sri Lankans in Israel work in home care for the infirm and elderly. Many cared for people in the kibbutzim—the Jewish collective communities—attacked on October 7.
Many heroically sheltered with their employers in safe rooms and survived the attacks, but some did not. The Philippines government has confirmed that at least two Filipinos were murdered. They died with their elderly charges, devoted to the end.
Another seven Filipinos working near the Gaza Strip are unaccounted for and are believed to have been abducted, along with two Sri Lankan women.
At least 21 people from Thailand have been killed, and an additional 14 have reportedly been taken hostage. Known for their hard work and skills, Thais have been an integral part of Israel’s economy for years, with some 30,000 Thais working in Israel’s agricultural sector. Among them, Natthaporn On-kaew, 26, who was working in southern Israel. He was identified by his parents in a video taken by Hamas terrorists and is believed to be among those abducted.
In all, nationals from at least 40 countries were among those killed or taken hostage. There is little we know about their condition. No international humanitarian organization has been permitted contact, despite the fact that many abductees suffered critical injuries and require urgent medical treatment and medications, which is required under international law.
Every minute these abductees are denied their legal and human rights, every minute they are separated from their families, every minute they suffer the fear and terror of their fate, is a minute too many.
Even Hamas has to know that nothing good will come from harming any more innocent people, that any sympathy left for their cause and grievances will evaporate.
All nations, regardless of whether they have a citizen who is detained, need to send a clear, unequivocal message to Hamas and its supporters: enough is enough.
All of the hostages must be immediately released.


Shira Loewenberg is the Director of the American Jewish Committee’s Asia Pacific Institute.

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