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After Brutal Executions, Will IDF Operations to Rescue Hostages Continue?
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced on September 1 that they had recovered the bodies of six Israeli hostages from a tunnel in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, including the body of US citizen Hersh Goldberg-Polin. According to reports, the hostages were shot at close range multiple times, just days before they were discovered by the IDF.
Since the Hamas atrocities of October 7, when the terrorist group abducted 250 women, children, and men, the IDF has rescued or recovered the remains of 45 hostages from Gaza through military operations. These missions are morally and strategically imperative: Each hostage that Israel brings home weakens Hamas’ grip on the enclave, and brings us closer to the war’s end.
Since the November 2023 US-brokered ceasefire deal that saw the release of 105 hostages, Hamas has repeatedly refused subsequent ceasefire agreements and hostage proposals. Despite feverish diplomatic efforts by Israel and the United States, Hamas has not freed a single hostage from Gaza since the November deal.
With 97 hostages from the October 7 attacks reportedly remaining in Gaza and Hamas’ intransigence, the only way besides a deal to bring hostages back is through military operations. Since the November deal, the IDF has rescued or returned the remains of over a third of the remaining hostages in Gaza. The continued success of IDF rescue missions in Gaza is critical for several reasons.
First and foremost, Israel must bring the hostages home to begin the healing process from the trauma of October 7. The plight of the hostages is a scar on Israeli psyches, and Hamas uses them as weapons to torment Israeli society. Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar spent over a decade in an Israeli prison, and speaks Hebrew fluently; he understands Israelis well and knows how to get under their skin. By releasing hostage videos at strategic moments and spreading misinformation about the hostage negotiations, Sinwar is intentionally antagonizing Israelis.
Second, ending the hostage crisis is a strategic imperative for the IDF. Since October 8, the IDF has been fighting an active kinetic war on at least seven fronts. After failing so terribly to save the 1,200 men, women, and children killed on October 7, the IDF cannot fully focus its attention on other fronts — or a potential wider regional war that might be launched by Hezbollah or Iran — until it completes the mission in Gaza and brings the hostages home.
Third, military rescue operations are tactically important because each hostage who comes home deprives Sinwar of physical protection. For 10 months, Sinwar has been hiding in tunnels and terror hideouts above ground, reportedly surrounded by living hostages. The hostages serve as a life insurance policy for Sinwar, who understands that Israel is unlikely to make an attempt on his life while he uses hostages as a human shield.
Finally, the IDF’s return of hostages deprives Sinwar of precious bargaining leverage in the hostage negotiations. Sinwar has demanded the release of Hamas terrorists from Israeli jails in exchange for the hostages — and that Hamas remain in power in the Gaza Strip after the war (something that most Israelis, and even Vice President Kamala Harris now oppose).
Multiple Palestinian prisoners that were released in the November deal have already returned to terrorism. Sinwar himself was released from prison in a hostage for prisoner deal in 2011 when over 1,000 terrorists were released from Israeli prisons in exchange for one Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit. Without hostages, Sinwar has fewer negotiating chips to make such demands.
There is no denying that a negotiated deal is by far and away the best option for bringing home the hostages. After all, IDF military operations have only returned 8 living hostages in ten months of war. However, in the absence of a deal, the IDF must push forward with intelligence collection and special operations to rescue and recover hostages, as these operations place additional pressure on Sinwar to finally accept a deal that ends the war.
The one complicating factor is that Israel’s past success in hostage rescue operations may give Hamas an incentive to murder Israeli hostages if they feel the IDF is close to freeing them. (Israeli forces were reportedly operating in the area near where the tunnel was found prior to the execution of the six hostages — and just one kilometer away from where a Bedouin Israeli hostage was rescued last week). It’s unclear if those past successes led Hamas to change its strategy, and execute hostages rather than letting them be rescued by Israelis.
But as long as Hamas insists it remain in power — which would put nine million Israelis at risk of kidnapping — and refuses to negotiate a deal with Israel, the US, and the international community, then Israel has no choice but to continue these operations.
To its credit, the Biden administration has reportedly provided Israel with special technology and intelligence for its missions in Gaza. However, the administration has also attempted to significantly limit IDF operations in Gaza, particularly in Rafah, where at least 9 hostages were held.
Any future administration should continue Washington’s support for Israel’s recovery efforts in Gaza and back Israel’s right for full operational freedom in the enclave to return the hostages held by terrorists in Gaza, including several American citizens.
Enia Krivine is the senior director of the Israel Program and the National Security Network at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Follow her on X @EKrivine.
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Hamas Calls for Global Siege on US, Israeli Embassies After Renewed Strikes in Gaza
Illustrative: Pro-Hamas demonstrators gather in the heavily Orthodox Jewish neighborhood of Borough Park in New York City on Feb. 18, 2o25. Photo: Screenshot
Hamas has called for “mass demonstrations and a global siege on Israeli and American embassies around the globe,” according to Iranian state-run media, following Israel’s decision to resume military operations against the Palestinian terrorist group in Gaza after negotiations to extend a ceasefire failed.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, Hamas urged the “Arabic and Islamic world” and “free people everywhere” to mobilize against “the Israeli regime’s resuming its US-backed war of genocide against the Palestinian territory.”
The group called for immediate pressure on both Israel and the United States “to end the ongoing military onslaught,” in Gaza, according to Iran’s Press TV.
“The fascist occupation government has resumed its barbaric aggression and genocide war against our people in Gaza, violating all human norms, values, and divine laws during the holy month of Ramadan,” the statement reads”
Iran is Hamas’s chief international backer, providing the Palestinian terrorist group with weapons, funding, and training.
Israel on Monday night began conducting “extensive” strikes against Hamas targets in Gaza, before resuming ground operations in the coastal enclave on Wednesday.
“This follows Hamas’s repeated refusal to release our hostages, as well as its rejection of all of the proposals it has received from US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff and from the mediators,” the Israeli prime minister’s office said in a statement. “Israel will, from now on, act against Hamas with increasing military strength.”
In its own statement, Hamas called for mass demonstrations in cities worldwide and a coordinated siege of Israeli and American diplomatic missions “in response to the Israeli government’s resumption of its military aggression and its reversal of the ceasefire agreement, which has flouted all international and humanitarian laws and norms.”
The Palestinian Islamist group also urged demonstrators to raise Palestinian flags and mobilize resources in support of “the legitimate rights of Palestinians to freedom, independence, and an end to a simultaneous stifling blockade that the regime was enforcing against the coastal strip.”
“Let us unite all efforts at the Arab, Islamic, and international levels and be one voice against the Zionist aggression and the genocide war it is waging against more than two million Palestinians,” the statement read.
Israel recently imposed a total blockade on Gaza after the first phase of the ceasefire with Hamas expired without an agreement to extend the truce.
During the first phase, which began on Jan. 19, fighting ceased for six weeks as Hamas released 33 Israeli hostages (25 alive and eight deceased) in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, many of whom had been serving long sentences in Israeli prisons for terrorist activities.
The second phase was meant to include a complete Israeli military withdrawal from Gaza and the release of the remaining hostages taken by Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists from Israel. However, negotiations faltered when Hamas rejected a US proposal, supported by Israel, to release additional hostages and extend the ceasefire while continuing to discuss a permanent resolution.
The US, Qatar, and Egypt have been trying to bridge the differences between the Islamic terrorist group and Israel to restart negotiations in order to release remaining hostages held in Gaza and lift the blockade.
On Tuesday, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said that Jerusalem will not cease military operations against Hamas until all the hostages are returned.
“Hamas must realize that the rules of the game have changed, and if it does not immediately release all the hostages, the gates of hell will open, and it will find itself facing the full intensity of the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] in the air, sea, and land, until its complete elimination,” Katz said during a visit to the Tel Nof Airbase.
“We will not stop fighting until all the hostages are returned home and all threats to the southern residents are removed,” he added.
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Iran Says It Will Consider ‘Opportunities’ as Well as Threats in Trump Letter
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi looks on before a meeting with Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, in Tehran, Iran, Aug. 26, 2024. Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
Iran will consider the “opportunities” as well as the threats in a letter from US President Donald Trump that urged it to reach a new nuclear deal, and will soon respond, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Thursday.
Iran‘s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei rejected Trump‘s letter last week as deceptive, saying Trump‘s excessive demands would “tighten the knot of sanctions and increase pressure on Iran.”
But Araqchi said Tehran was still evaluating the letter and weighing its reply.
“Trump’s letter was more a threat, but it claims to have opportunities. We paid attention to all points held in the letter and will consider both threat and opportunity in our response,” Araqchi said.
“There is an opportunity behind every menace.”
On Wednesday, Axios reported that Trump‘s letter gave Iran a two-month deadline to reach a nuclear deal or face stricter sanctions under the US President’s renewed “maximum pressure” campaign.
Araqchi said Tehran would respond to Trump‘s letter in the coming days via appropriate channels, rejecting any direct negotiations as long as Washington levels “pressure, threats, and sanctions.”
In his first term, Trump withdrew the US from a 2015 deal between Iran and major powers that had placed temporary limits on Tehran’s nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief.
After Trump pulled out in 2018 and re-imposed sanctions, Iran breached and far surpassed those limits in the development of its nuclear program.
Western powers accuse Iran of seeking nuclear weapons by enriching uranium up to 60 percent purity, above what they say is justifiable for a civilian program.
Tehran says the development of its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes and that it respects its commitments under international law.
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American Citizen Glezmann Freed by Taliban, Returning to US
Members of the Taliban carrying flags participate in a rally to mark the third anniversary of the fall of Kabul, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Aug. 14, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Sayed Hassib
The Taliban on Thursday freed an American citizen detained in Afghanistan for over two years following direct talks between US hostage envoy Adam Boehler and Taliban officials in Kabul, a source briefed on the release told Reuters.
George Glezmann, who was detained in 2022 while visiting Kabul as a tourist, left Afghanistan aboard a Qatari aircraft on Thursday evening bound for Qatar, the source said. Glezmann and Boehler are expected to later travel onward to the United States.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a statement on Thursday confirming Glezmann‘s release.
Thursday’s meeting in Kabul marked the highest-level direct talks between the United States and the Taliban since President Donald Trump came to power in January.
Boehler met with the Taliban administration’s foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, according to a statement by the Afghan foreign ministry.
“During this meeting, discussions were held on Afghanistan-US bilateral relations, the release of prisoners, and the provision of consular services to Afghans in the United States,” the statement said.
It added that the meeting was also attended by former US special representative to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad.
Qatar, a Gulf Arab state which represents US diplomatic interests in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, said in a statement posted on X that it had facilitated Glezmann‘s release.
The source said that Qatar coordinated with Boehler to negotiate with the Taliban authorities.
“Following weeks of negotiations, a breakthrough was made by the Qataris during recent meetings with the Taliban,” the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
TALIBAN ‘GOODWILL GESTURE’
In a statement, the Taliban called Glezmann‘s release a “goodwill gesture” reflecting its willingness to engage with the United States “on the basis of mutual respect and interests.”
The source said that the release was not part of a deal to free any Afghan detainees held by the US in exchange.
The US in January freed an Afghan convicted by an American court on charges of drug smuggling and terrorism in exchange for two US citizens held in Afghanistan.
Qatari officials were also involved in negotiations for that deal, which began during the administration of former US president Joe Biden and led to the release of two Americans, Ryan Corbett and William McKenty.
A third American citizen, Mahmood Habibi, is thought to remain in custody in Afghanistan.
BOEHLER’S HIGH LEVEL DIPLOMACY
Glezmann was the second high-profile release of a US citizen held overseas secured amid diplomacy by Boehler.
Boehler was involved in efforts that led to the release of American school teacher Marc Fogel from Russia last month.
In addition, Boehler has held direct talks with Palestinian terrorist group Hamas in an effort to secure the release of remaining hostages held in Gaza. He also traveled to Iraq last month to push for the release of Israeli-Russian researcher Elizabeth Tsurkov, a student at Princeton University.
Glezmann, a mechanic for Delta Airlines in Atlanta, was visiting Kabul as a tourist when he was detained by the Taliban in December 2022, according to the Foley Foundation, which monitors cases of Americans detained overseas.
The foundation said Glezmann had been in sporadic telephone contact with his wife since he was detained, and that he had health conditions that deteriorated while in detention.
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