If there were any remaining doubts about the true nature of Hamas, Thursday’s grotesque spectacle should have erased them. The terrorist group erected a stage to release the bodies of Oded Lifshitz, Shiri Bibas, and her sons Kfir and Ariel – victims of the unthinkable brutality that Hamas inflicted and continues to inflict on Israel.
For 16 months, the world hoped and prayed for good news about Shiri and her children. That hope was shattered on Thursday when Hamas delivered their bodies in coffins, handed over to the Red Cross for burial in Israel. The image of four masked terrorists carrying the tiny coffin of Kfir Bibas – snatched from his home, only to be murdered in cold blood – stuns the soul. There is no language that can capture this cruelty. It speaks for itself.
The difference between Israel and Hamas could not be starker. We sanctify life. They, in Gaza, sanctify death. This clash of values is reflected in the price Israel is willing to pay to save its hostages: dozens of convicted murderers released for each life saved. In contrast, Hamas parades the corpses of children they stole from their families.
Oded Lifshitz, Shiri Bibas, and her sons placed their trust in Israel’s government and its military. On October 7, they were abducted by Hamas from their homes in the kibbutz of Nir Oz, believing that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the IDF would do everything to bring them back. Their return in coffins is a reminder of the catastrophic failures of that day – and the strategic mistakes made in the years leading up to it. Israel allowed Hamas to grow into the monster it became, and the Bibas and Lifshitz families – along with more than 2,000 others – have paid the ultimate price.
Yet Thursday’s grim reality also serves as a somber reminder: The hostage deal must continue. The remaining hostages in Gaza are running out of time. The haunting image of the coffins, loaded into Red Cross vehicles, must make us more determined to bring back the remaining hostages. We cannot afford to lose any more lives. The families waiting for their loved ones cannot endure another loss.
WHAT HAPPENS in the coming week will be critical for the return of the remaining hostages. On Saturday, six living ones are meant to be released and then another group of dead hostages next Thursday. With that, the first stage of the deal will come to an end – and the question will be whether Israel and Hamas can agree on a second stage.
At the same time, there is growing concern that Netanyahu is more focused on political survival than on saving the hostages. Many politicians in the opposition and members of the media used his decision, to appoint Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer to head the hostage negotiation team instead of the heads of the Mossad and the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) as proof that the prime minister plans to torpedo the second stage of the deal and further politicize the negotiations.
On the one hand, the concern is legitimate. Too many times over the last 16 months, Netanyahu seemed to prioritize political survival over the survival of the hostages. Itamar Ben-Gvir admitted as much when he revealed that he used threats to topple the coalition several times to prevent a hostage deal from being approved by the cabinet.
The statement put out on Wednesday by a “senior source” close to Netanyahu – blasting the heads of the Mossad and the Shin Bet and claiming the success in getting Hamas to agree to release six hostages on Saturday only for the prime minister – did not buy credit and undermines the public’s trust in the government and the man at its head.
On the other hand, there is also no denying that most of the hostages have returned home. Between the deal in November 2023 for the women and children, the few hostages rescued in IDF operations, and now this current deal, Netanyahu has managed to bring back most of the 251 people who were taken on October 7. While “most” is crucial, it is not enough, and Israel will not be able to move on or rest until all of its people are back home with their families.
AND WHILE the suspicion against Netanyahu is legitimate – too many times over his long years in office he prioritized political survival over what was right for the nation – this does not mean that Dermer’s appointment is illegitimate. On the contrary: Dermer is one of the most capable members of the government and has forged strategic ties with the Trump administration and particularly with the president’s Middle East Special Envoy Steve Witkoff.
The value of a trusted chief negotiator
There is value in having someone who is completely trusted by the prime minister and the Americans in the role of chief negotiator. While the heads of the Mossad and Shin Bet are men with integrity, they are also political appointments and serve at the pleasure of the prime minister and his government.
The criticism of Dermer long ago crossed what is acceptable. There are those who claim he “is not Israeli” since he was born in the US, moved here in his mid-20s, was too old to serve in the IDF, and still speaks with an American accent. The fact that he has served this country with distinction for decades in both Israel and the US, first as economic attaché and then as ambassador – and that his children serve in the IDF – means nothing to them. The fact that this country was built by immigrants also means nothing.
What bothers them is not Dermer; it is that he works with Netanyahu and is close to him. If there was someone like him working for Yair Lapid or Benny Gantz, would we hear the same criticism? I doubt it.
This does not mean that we should not be vigilant. Israelis need to be clear that politics will not be allowed when it comes to the hostages and that the negotiations cannot become a political football.
The only question that matters is this: Will Israel continue to bring its hostages home, or will they remain trapped in the clutches of Hamas?
The answer begins now.
The writer is a senior fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute and a former editor-in-chief of The Jerusalem Post.
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