The Israel-Hamas conflict has been going on for over 450 days now, and Hamas has been continuously playing games when it comes to releasing the remaining hostages or even putting out a list of the remaining living ones. They also rejected part of a list of required hostages for a ceasefire deal. At the start of the new year, though, Defense Minister Israel Katz warned Hamas that if they don't release the hostages and do not stop rocket fire on Israel, the IDF will intensify the fighting. He also had a message for "the residents of Gaza."
Not only is Hamas still holding hostages, but, according to The Times of Israel, Hamas launched two rockets at Netivot before Katz's visit to the city. The outlet also quoted Katz as saying:
“If Hamas does not soon allow the release of the Israeli hostages from Gaza, despite Israel’s willingness to make far-reaching compromises in accordance with the principles outlined by the US president, and continues to fire at Israeli communities, it will receive blows with a force not seen in Gaza for a long time,” Katz says during a visit to the southern city of Netivot.
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“The IDF will intensify its activities against the terror nests in Gaza until the release of the hostages and the elimination of Hamas,” Katz continues.
“I call on the residents of Gaza to rise up against the murderous Hamas organization, which also uses you as human shields, and to bring about the release of the hostages, to prevent suffering and end the war,” he adds.
Katz's message to the people of Gaza is not only significant as he calls on them to fight back against Hamas terrorists, but it serves as a crucial reminder of how Hamas has no respect for their lives, given how they are indeed "use[d] as human shields." Hamas does the same when it comes to hospitals, which Israel's enemies in Congress and the mainstream media conveniently ignore.
Perhaps most crucial of all is that Hamas releasing the hostages could indeed "end the war," which is something key that the "ceasefire now" crowd needs to keep in mind.
Such a call to release the hostages comes as Israel is submitting a report to the United Nations about the mistreatment that such hostages have been subject to by their captors. We'll see if such disturbing details can soften the hearts of those at the anti-Israel UN.
Katz isn't the only one intensifying such calls. President-elect Donald Trump, who is set to take office in a matter of weeks, has been repeatedly issuing warnings to Hamas. "Please let this TRUTH serve to represent that if the hostages are not released prior to January 20, 2025, the date that I proudly assume Office as President of the United States, there will be ALL HELL TO PAY in the Middle East, and for those in charge who perpetrated these atrocities against Humanity," a Truth Social post of his from last month read in part. "Those responsible will be hit harder than anybody has been hit in the long and storied History of the United States of America. RELEASE THE HOSTAGES NOW!"
Trump has doubled down on such calls for Hamas to release the hostages, as he did during last month's press conference, and more recently, during a New Year's Eve event at Mar-a-Lago. "I’ll put it this way: They better let the hostages come back soon," he told reporters.
On the eve of 2025, @realDonaldTrump reiterates to Hamas: “I’ll put it this way: they better let the hostages come back soon.” pic.twitter.com/sfrExVvG0R
— Arsen Ostrovsky 🎗️ (@Ostrov_A) January 1, 2025
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