The Unending Israel-Hamas War and Hostage Crisis

Not even sustained U.S. pressure is able to break the Israel-Hamas impasse. Why?

Last week, even before President Trump took off for his four-day swing through the middle east, it was as if a whirlwind had blasted through the region, cleaning out the cobwebs of decades.

Whatever one’s opinion of what we think went on last week, there is no dispute as to the unprecedented disruptiveness of the President’s time in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE.

His bypass of Israel fed talk about a growing rift between the US and Israeli administrations. While American and Israeli officials continue to insist that there is no such tension, what is clear is that there is something more than nothing.

Dissonance?

In the days leading up to his arrival in the region on Tuesday, May 13, President Trump dropped teaser posts on social media creating hype around anticipated announcements and developments. And even before he touched down, the release of an American-Israeli IDF soldier held captive by Hamas since October 7, was a fait accompli.

In Israel, we went to bed on the night of Sunday, May 11, night being informed that Alexander’s release was likely within days. By the following morning everything was in high gear. It was going down that day. Israeli TV devoted every moment of the day and evening airtime to play by play coverage of developments as they became known. All that was certain was that Edan Alexander was to be released, imminently. And that this minor miracle had been negotiated by American hostage envoys, Steve Witkoff and Adam Boehler. And that Qatar and Egypt had mediated negotiations with Hamas.

Israel was nowhere.

Reports since have indicated that not until the afternoon of Sunday May 11, hours before Alexander’s release, was PM Netanyahu fully briefed on the deal by Witkoff. Israel was asked – and apparently agreed – to comply with certain conditions to facilitate his safe release; a ceasefire from noon to 8 pm on Monday as well as allowing a set number of aid trucks to enter the Gaza Strip.

Once safely in Israel, Edan spoke briefly by telephone with Prime Minister Netanyahu. This was orchestrated by Witkoff, who passed the prime minister his cell phone during their meeting. You can watch and listen to a recording of these conversations (part in Hebrew with English subtitles), released by PM Netanyahu’s office, here:

Edan’s parents and family have been criticized by some Israelis for not mentioning the Israeli government or Prime Minister Netanyahu in a brief press conference they held at Tel Aviv’s Sourasky Medical Center on Tuesday, May 13. One can only surmise that they do not see Israel as having been particularly dedicated to ensuring the release of the hostages who continue to languish in Gaza. The fact is that many Israelis feel similarly. Recent polls indicate that 70% of Israelis prioritize negotiating the release of the hostages, even if it means the cessation of war.

The government, however, has different ideas. Now and then they mention the importance of bringing home all the hostages, but in the next breath say that this will only be done through military pressure. A statement issued by the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on Monday, May 12, stated [translated from Hebrew]:

This is a very emotional moment – Edan Alexander has returned home. We embrace him and we embrace his family.

This was achieved thanks to our military pressure and the diplomatic pressure applied by President Trump. This is a winning combination.

(The hyper-link in the above statement also takes you to videos and photographs from Edan’s reunion with family members.)

Following Edan’s release, Witkoff met with the Alexander family, of course, as well as family members of hostages still in captivity. He and Adam Boehler walked around Hostage Square and spoke to media and members of the public. Signature Witkoff behavior. No pomp. No grandstanding. To a person, everyone with whom I have spoken who has interacted with Witkoff describes him as being sincere, down-to-earth and fully engaged in their painful journey. A mensch, you might say, with deep compassion.

Following his brief visit to Israel Witkoff flew to Qatar on Tuesday at some point and it seems that members of several hostage families accompanied him. Reports on the evening news in Israel Wednesday night spoke of a two-hour meeting attended by senior Qatari and American officials – including Witkoff – and the hostage family members.

Qataris and Americans expressed their commitment to doing everything possible to bring about the release of all the remaining hostages.

Israeli officials? Not in the room.

This is beyond extraordinary. The Prime Minister of Israel has, for 19 months, met and spoken with very few hostage families or former captives who have returned. When Sagui Dekel-Chen (a father brutally kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz and whose third daughter was born two months after October 7) invited Netanyahu to meet with him at his kibbutz following his release in February, Netanyahu demurred. He didn’t say yes or no. Sagui assured him it would just be the two of them. No cameras. As a member of a community where one in four members were either murdered or taken hostage, the kibbutz where he had grown up and was raising his family, Sagui felt it was important for the Prime Minister come to bear witness. To this day, Netanyahu has made no effort to do so. He has made himself scarce in all the hard-hit communities of southern Israel, as well as with respect to the hostage families.

Another Nir Oz member, 80-year-old Gadi Mozes, an internationally renowned agricultural expert, survived 482 days in harsh captivity. He was alone throughout. His survival was miraculous, never mind the fighting spirit and morale he maintained.

Mozes – who was among the founding members of Nir Oz – has expressed dismay that PM Netanyahu did not even attempt to speak with him after his release.

“The prime minister,” he asked, rhetorically, ”does he want to hear from us? Does he understand what we feel? Does he want to understand what a sense of betrayal we feel, that the state abandoned us?”

Mozes was also harshly critical of Netanyahu for not visiting Nir Oz. As Prime Minister, he said, it’s ridiculous to suggest that Netanyahu requires an invitation. People from all over the world have travelled to the kibbutz to show support, bear witness and help however possible. That the prime minister of Israel has not done so is incomprehensible to Mozes and so many Israelis.

Speaking earlier this month at an agricultural conference, Mozes was clear regarding his view of the prime minister and coalition government. “The government's heart is sealed shut,” he said, continuing to speak directly to the fact that he has yet to visit Nir Oz. “Should we invite the Prime Minister? Truth is, I no longer want him to come.'

The family of Edan Alexander, in not mentioning the Prime Minister or government of Israel, reflects a consensus among most hostage families; that they have been abandoned by this government.

Following weeks of threats, Israel began an aggressive offensive operation on the Gaza Strip. This latest effort has been christened “Gideon’s Chariots.”. It is intended to finish the job that the IDF began 19 months ago; to destroy Hamas politically and militarily and to also bring home the hostages. Truth is, the majority of Israelis just want this war to end. Now.

People are asking – why? To what end? “Total victory”?

After 19 months of war, with Hamas still able to put up stiff resistance and with Israel unable to free the hostages, Israelis are asking – “what’s the plan?”

There have been protests and murmurings. We learned in recent days that the number of reservists showing up for yet another stint on the battlefield is lower than anticipated. Some media are reporting that the IDF is expanding the call-up to include soldiers diagnosed with PTSD.

In recent weeks I have had countless conversations with men in their 40s who have received their call up notices to report, yet again, for reserve duty. Most Israeli males are exempt by law from reserve service after age 40. Many are choosing to “volunteer” out of a deep patriotism. Many are also very uncomfortable with the direction in which the country is heading.

These are men with families who have served for many months already. Some have lost their jobs. Businesses have gone under. Families are under terrible strain. But senior members of the government talk of destroying Hamas and occupying the Gaza Strip and establishing settlements in the territory.

There is a spreading sense of dread here, almost shock. Many feel that the government of Israel has really lost sight of who we are, as a people, our values, why this country was created. We are watching the situation in the Gaza Strip deteriorate and escalate. Israelis no longer accept that military action is the answer. Not after so much time. So much suffering.

We receive reports now that despite so many false famine alerts in the Gaza Strip that this time the warnings may be real. For more than two months now, Israel has prevented all food and aid shipments from entering the Strip, saying that huge quantities of food had been allowed in during preceding months. But existing stocks are reportedly alarmingly low. Even COGAT (the IDF unit that is the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories), which is the primary address in Israel for monitoring food and aid levels passing into Gaza - is waving red flags.

Talking about cramming two million Gazans into a small area at the tip of the Strip; cutting off food, medicine and water; boasting about occupying and settling the Gaza Strip…..these comments and actions are deeply disturbing to Israelis. And it’s not a right wing/left wing thing. It’s moral. It’s war weariness. It’s despair. And it’s a recognition that, perhaps, we have not managed the last 19 months as well as we might have. Perhaps it’s time for a pause and rethink.

Disruption and conflict seem to be everywhere, but here in Israel, the stakes are so high. And people’s energy reserves are quite depleted. This is why 70% of this country so desperately wants to negotiate the release of hostages and a cessation to hostilities.

There is something fundamentally wrong when the government of a foreign country – America – is not just perceived to be focused on freeing the hostages but is actually working flat out to do so. The Israeli government, at best, is dragged along, reluctantly. The spectacle of Israeli hostage families flying to Qatar is other worldly.

Of all places. Qatar.

The main financial and political benefactor of Hamas. To discuss the efforts being made to free their loved ones. And that there was not a single Israeli government official present? Not to mention the fact that senior Israeli officials – including Minister of Strategic Affairs, Ron Dermer, who was put in charge of hostage negotiations by PM Netanyahu in February – simply do not meet with hostage families. Or those who have been freed. It’s beyond detachment or insensitivity. It’s intentional.

As Witkoff politely commented several weeks ago, Israeli leadership seems to be disconnected, not at all aligned with public opinion in this country. And I happen to agree.

Earlier this month, when meeting with hostage families, Witkoff reportedly made comments that were reported on Israel’s channel 12, the most-watched station in the country. He explicitly stated that the US is very focused and determined to return the hostages but that Israeli leadership is not ready to end the war.

Channel 12 reported that Witkoff said that “Israel is prolonging the war, even though we do not see where further progress can be made.” The majority of Israelis agree with that assessment.

In subsequent weeks there has clearly been significant US pressure put on Israel to get back to the negotiating table. PM Netanyahu dispatched his A-team to Doha but recalled them last night. Even the Qataris say that the impasse is unbridgeable. Israel is insisting on one deal in which all hostages are released. Hamas is insisting on a phased release. Some reports say five, some say up to 11 - hostages will be released - and a 60-day ceasefire will follow. That means that at least 11 living hostages - as well as dozens of remains of those murdered in captivity - will be left behind.

And so the war rages on.

I had intended to publish this piece last weekend. But one thing after another that got in the way. As soon as I thought it was ready new information came to light. And then yesterday, we awoke in Israel to a blood curdling recording of Minister of Finance, Bezalel Smotrich, having gone viral overnight.

I urge you to watch the clip, which has English subtitles.

These comments by Smotrich were made recently and are beyond the pale. If an election was to be held today he and his party would not even receive enough support to retain their Knesset seats. They would be obliterated politically. Yet, because PM Netanyahu values power over everything - including, it appears, the popular will and the good of the nation - Smotrich wields wildly disproportionate power in this government. He and his fellow extremist - Itamar Ben Gvir - control this government. Should they rescind their support the government falls. We are being led into a very dark place by fanatics. And we are well past the 11th hour.

Earlier this week I hosted a casual dinner at my kibbutz home for a mix of local kibbutz residents, artists, friends, expats, and some foreign visitors. The latter were shocked by many things; the determination of Israelis to push on with life in spite of the very difficult circumstances; but, perhaps more so, by the vicious responses to their social media posts. Pure hatred. Feral attacks on their integrity. By just being here they were accused of the most horrible things. Which, sadly, did not surprise me one bit.

I’ll close today on a somewhat hopeful note. A small group of the reservists who are carrying the load have begun to develop just what Israel needs……another political party…

But seriously. They are serial, wildly successful entrepreneurs who could easily just maintain the rhythm of their comfortable lives. Instead, they have decided to develop a political movement that I believe will resonate with hundreds of thousands - perhaps millions - of Israelis who are politically homeless and feeling hopeless. These men and women are in their 30s and 40s and super-accomplished. Their mission? To reclaim the spirit of the early, unapologetic Zionists, secular, traditional and religious, and focus on what is good for the nation and not what political opportunity in the next moment dictates.

I attended a home meeting that they organized last night in a new village near Bet Shemesh. Like built after Covid kind of new. The turnout was impressive, as was the intensity of engagement. People are adrift and not seeing their interests and concerns reflected in the status quo parties and system. This new group wants national civilian or military service to be enshrined in law - for all - and yes, that includes Arabs and religious Jews. If you live here and benefit from citizenship then you must participate in the responsibility of contributing to the state. As do many observant Jews, Arabs could choose to serve in their communities. Give back.

That core value is their paramount policy vision. They are developing a full platform but without all hands on deck they fear that the ship - being the state of Israel - will go down. And their concern is widely shared.

I’ll be attending more of their home events and am even hosting one in a few weeks. Then I’ll do a podcast episode. This is a grassroots initiative that is quickly gaining momentum.

Thanks, as always, for being here.

I wrote about some of these issues recently in the National Post, when facts and circumstances were still foggy. The introductory paragraphs of that column are below. You can read the full piece here.

Vivian Bercovici: Hostage release the one bright spot in Trump's dangerous diplomacy

Edan Alexander's release highlights Netanyahu's failures and Trump's questionable courting of Gulf states

SDEROT, Israel — The release of 21-year-old American-Israeli soldier Edan Alexander from Hamas captivity on Monday has already shifted tectonic plates in the region. So many red lines were rubbed out in the way only U.S. President Donald Trump could manage.

Only a day earlier, Israelis learned that Alexander, the last living American hostage held by Hamas, would be released. We now know that the terms were negotiated between the United States and Hamas, with Qatar and Egypt acting as mediators. Israel was left in the dark. In fact, not until Sunday did Israel receive information regarding the time and location of Alexander’s release.

After a brief delay due to Hamas making a last-minute change to the rendezvous location in the Gaza Strip for the handover of Alexander, he was transferred to a Red Cross vehicle Monday evening, local time, and transported to Israel Defence Forces representatives within the Gaza Strip. And then, of course, he was taken to see his family, who were waiting at an IDF base just inside the border with Israel.

While Israel was not forced to agree to major concessions, it has been widely speculated that this is intended to kickstart negotiations for the release of all the hostages and an end to the conflict. But the negotiations will be conducted under fire. And fire, I can report, has resumed in the Gaza Strip, after a brief pause to facilitate Alexander’s safe return.