Could Israel have got the hostages back by negotiation rather than war ?

I think that it could be argued that potential future hostages are as important to protect as the current hostages.

Obviously I could never say that to anyone who has family who is a hostage. If it were one of my children being held hostage I would fight like a tiger for them to be considered the no 1 priority.

Yes is my answer, and sometimes negotiation is just necessary, not just for immediate gain such as hostage release, but also for long term peace - see Northern Ireland.

However Netanyahu’s priority was never getting the hostages home.

It must be a living nightmare. My brain turns away- I can't think of it. They must feel utterly abandoned to their torture.

I can’t imagine the absolute nightmare of the hostage families. After seeing images of Evyatar and Rom, which will be reflective of the state of the other living hostages as well, and desperately wanting them out so they can be saved. They will know Hamas has said they will execute them if a rescue mission is attempted.

I have sons of a similar age and they’re still kids to me, I would be absolutely deranged.

Imagine them going through all the torture and horrors they have been through over the last 22 months which would already seem like a lifetime in the conditions they are in, trying to keep themselves alive knowing they could be murdered at any minute and they know what their captors are capable of, only to be murdered at the last minute.

The families of the dead hostages still being held as well. Knowing those monsters have done god knows what to their bodies, desecrated and defiled, as a bereaved mother myself. knowing that at even in death, you just want them safe in a weird kind of way and having buried them with dignity after doing all you can take care of them in death, have them close by.

People on the outside can rationally calculate and weigh up the odds, that a much greater amount of soldiers and civilians will die if rescue attempts are made. They are likely held separately so one successful release will damn the remaining hostages to a certain death, and also that more Israelis AND Palestinians will be killed in future if the Israeli government cede to Hamas’ demands so it’s an impossible decision to make and one you’d have to have nerves of steel to have to make.

Some people have suggested flooding the remaining tunnels which haven’t been cleared yet and where Hamas/PIJ might still be hiding with a knock out agent. They must have food/water entry points to feed themselves as they won’t be going without food and water. They had fresh fruit in the video they posted! That will take a fully coordinated response at multiple locations and they’d have to do it extremely quickly, and would need multiple special forces groups to be involved and a complete blackout of energy and communications.

Probably not possible but they have to try something!

I assume Israel is acting with future hostages Hamas may take in mind too.

I feel they've been clear that getting hostages back isnt their main priority, but rather destroying Hamas, so that October 7 can never happen again.

I cannot imagine the pain of hostage families knowing this. It feels inhuman, I'd argue its also practical.

I think yes. The previous prime minister thought so.

Two quoted sources, I wouldn't lend credibility to. You can't negotiate with terrorists. I could use a similar example but it will get heated so I won't bother.

Hamas should never have seized those innocent hostages in the first place. Once they were taken Hamas were never going to return them. Israel released about 100 Palestinians to get back 1 hostage and still Hamas would not release the hostages. They are evil to the core.

Israel withdrew totally from Gaza in 2005 and the IDF dragged the Jewish community kicking and screaming from their homes to facilitate that, and also dug up the graves of the Jews buried there to move their remains out of Gaza, for PEACE.

Palestinians immediately then destroyed greenhouses left for them to continue the $ billion flower and fruit industry set up by the Israelis.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/wbna9331863

In fact today was the 20th anniversary of Israeli disengagement from the Gaza Strip -

https://x.com/JeremyKamali/status/1952134057183137928

That Jewish guy who was forcible removed in the video said what would happen in the future and it seems he was right.

Why do you think so many hostages were taken if Hamas planned to release them all?

It was obvious they’d release some in dribs and drabs for exchange for prisoners to keep up negotiations, murder some in captivity as they did the Bibas family and Oded Lifshitz, but they were always going to hold on to the last of them so they could make impossible demands for a ‘win’.

Gal Shalit was held for 5 years and Israel had to release over 1000 prisoners for him including Yahya Sinwar who was given 4 life sentences for murdering 4 Palestinians suspected of being collaborators, and then went on to lead the Oct 7th attack after his life was saved by Israel while in prison due to a brain tumour!

I can totally get why Israel doesn’t want to release more like Sinwar, they’ve already released murderers and terrorists since Oct 7th, and also I get why the hostage families don’t give a shit about that, they just want them back as I would if I was in their shoes.

Hamas has said they will execute the hostages if any rescue mission is attempted, like they did to 6 of them last September, but it looks like that may be the only option, hopefully without that happening again, and they are not going to be held in one place which makes it even more challenging.

Shame that the uninvolved civilians haven’t given any intel to the IDF to help get them out, even with the offer for a reward and safe passage out of Gaza by Netanyahu.

Especially as they must have starving families.

Some in the Israeli government, and some opposition MPs, are no less extreme than Hamas.

I'm also far from convinced that isn't true of the current government generally, they're just somewhat more constrained by international law.

I agree. Also to add in the the US who by all accounts are a bunch of nutters and Qatar.

There is nobody at this table talking words of peace, words of unity. It’s never been present. I feel like the situation has been very hopeless from the start.

Sadly we are seeing what happens when people who, by our standards, are extremists (Israeli government) meet head on with people who, by everybody's standards, are extremists (Hamas)

We can only speculate but I do think its noteworthy that Netanyahu has made clear that while rescuing the hostages is "an important goal", the "supreme goal" is defeating Hamas.

Most of the families of the hostages are highly critical of Netanyahu and have led protests against him, because they do not believe he is adequately trying to secure the hostages' return.

Personally, I do not believe that Netanyahu wants the war to stop currently and is calculating that it is better for his own ends that at least some living hostages remain captive. I don't think this is an uncommon view among Isrealis, hence the protests.