Friday, November 24, 2023 will go down in history as the day on which the cruel process of hostage-taking was foiled.

Removing hostages from the clutches of one of the most abominable organizations known to humanity is pure prowess, especially since all the rules of the game have been broken by Hamas, which only began negotiating thanks to the extreme pressure exerted on its leaders by the Israeli military offensive and the physical elimination of its high-ranking members. This pressure will have to be exerted again as soon as the current truce ends to make Hamas bend even further.

The IDF assault could have resulted in the execution of Israeli hostages in retaliation. The Nazis executed dozens of innocent civilians, taken at random from local populations, to discourage acts of resistance. If Hamas had behaved the same way, Israel would not have given in. On the contrary, the IDF would have doubled down on its attack. Hamas understood that the hostages must therefore be kept alive and in relatively good health in order to serve as bargaining chips for truces, for the release of terrorists held in Israeli jails, and for fuel deliveries. But above all, as life insurance for their holders. At least a hundred Israeli hostages will be held until the end, without any hope of negotiations, because the leaders of Hamas are keeping them as human shields and, if necessary, as a means of saving their own skin if and when the IDF is on the verge of getting their hands on them. They will then beg for their lives and safe passage to Egypt in exchange for the hostages kept behind. These hostages are all men and women aged approximately eighteen to forty and considered by Hamas as 'combatants', since they are of fighting age, and therefore as prisoners of war in the same way as the handful of terrorists that Israel captured on October 7.

This strategy of kidnapping innocent civilians, including young children and even babies and the elderly, is the work of Islamists in general. At the forefront are ISIS and Iran, followed by Boko Haram and Al-Shebab. In the case of Hamas, it is about collectively torturing a nation and a people who consider human life sacred. With its cynicism, this tool of psychological warfare takes its toll even more than the horrors practiced by the Nazis, with the final goal remaining the same: to exterminate the Jewish people. This also shows that hostage-taking only works with those who value the lives of their fellow citizens and respect for human rights. We can kidnap and hold as many Palestinians as we want, and the terrorist factions won't care. They will consider it a necessary sacrifice for the cause.

Hostages being transported from northern Gaza toward Rafah crossing with Egypt by the ICRC27a copyright law Israel

However, hostage-taking throughout history has not always been so cruel and gratuitous. Since ancient times, it has served to guarantee compliance with agreements and treaties; it had a calming effect. Back then, the hostages were high-ranking people given as a warranty to the enemy. They were also treated well during their captivity, and a monetary clause was sometimes involved. Guy de Lusignan, Latin king of Jerusalem, was taken prisoner by Saladin and was released by a ransom. And there were even voluntary hostages. In 1347, the burghers of Calais surrendered themselves as hostages to King Edward III of England, thus saving the city from destruction. It was not until the 20th century that hostages were used for tactical purposes. During the First World War, the English took German hostages aboard their warships to dissuade the German navy from torpedoing them.

And there, the most recent role of the hostage comes into play: serving as a human shield. Israeli hostages are the last line of defense for terrorists operating in Gaza. The first line is the Gazan civilians themselves. That’s almost two million hostages! Using their own people as a tactical bulwark is a Palestinian innovation that even the Nazis did not resort to.

This method is sanctioned by international law and the Fourth Geneva Convention (Protocols I and II). The United Nations General Assembly strongly condemned it, on December 17, 1979, in whatever form it took. The various cases are listed in protocol number 21931 of the General Assembly. Hamas is not only guilty of all the offenses stipulated in this document, but also of crimes against humanity. The Hamas terrorists go beyond the Nazis, dreaming like them of a final solution and world domination. In a certain way, they are the devil himself. But much worse.