My Fellow Gazans: We Must Demand the Release of the Israeli Hostages

In the months following the October 7 massacre of Israelis, I have not been able to stop thinking about how much spite and hate it must have taken for Hamas’s leaders and militants to convince themselves that beheading, raping, and kidnapping civilians was something their God asked them to do as a kind of worship. It’s the only way to explain what at the end of the day remains a mystery: How could a person convince himself that kidnapping women in their 80s and little children is some kind of noble “resistance”?

Then I remembered a horrifying scene that took place 16 years ago, when I was a little child in Gaza. Hamas supporters were celebrating the victory of taking control of Gaza from Fatah—the “decontamination” of Gaza, as they called it. I still remember detainees being dragged by Hamas members on motorcycles to Al-Saraya Street in Al-Remal neighborhood with obvious signs of torture on their bodies. I remembered Hamas members firing dozens of bullets into their bodies from their AK-47s. I remembered Bahaa Balousha’s three children who were under the age of 10, who were killed by masked men because their dad was a Fatah member.

These memories helped me understand October 7. This is who Hamas has always been. They were not better to their own people than they were to the innocent Israelis they massacred. They are psychopaths. And they have for 16 years held the people of Gaza hostage.

Not that we could discuss this in Gaza. It’s not safe to talk about your thoughts or feelings about Hamas in Gaza, because you never really know if the person you are talking to is an undercover Hamas member or supporter.

Still, I used to believe Hamas was a ticking time bomb, which gave me the courage to stand up to them. I organized protests against Hamas. But received no international support, despite asking for it, when we spoke out against Hamas in 2019 and 2023. We felt betrayed and utterly alone while fighting for our freedom—then coming home and turning on the television only to find that Arabic media was more interested in the weather than our fight for freedom. Had we been supported, had Hamas been disposed of, it would have prevented the October 7 attacks and all the innocent Palestinians killed when Hamas now uses them as human shields.

As you know, Hamas was not disposed of. Instead, we were punished. I was imprisoned and tortured. Twice I became a Hamas hostage within a nation of them, until I managed to leave Gaza. And as someone who was imprisoned and tortured by Hamas, I find that I have to speak up for the kidnapped Israelis, even if it means my family is in danger from Hamas and their supporters. Because I don’t wish for anyone to live through what I did in Hamas’ custody.

If we don’t speak out about the atrocities Hamas has committed, if we don’t speak up on behalf of the Israeli hostages, we are allowing Hamas to paint the entire population of Gaza as a group of terrorists who celebrated Hamas’s crimes. If we don’t speak up, Hamas is able to falsely portray us as complicit, as cheering on their filmed atrocities.

People join family members of hostages held by Hamas as they gather to protest outside the home of U.N. Secretary General António Guterres on December 15, 2023 in New York City. Days after the UN General Assembly voted to adopt a resolution calling on an immediate ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas, the family of hostages gathered to demand the Secretary General do everything in his power to bring the remaining hostages home. A temporary ceasefire deal, that ended on December 1st, brought the release of more than 100 hostages held in Gaza and 240 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. Approximately 137 hostages are believed to still be in captivity in Gaza by Hamas.
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

After the October 7 attacks, lobbying campaigns, humanitarian organizations, and even Palestinians such as myself called for the release of the hostages back to their homes and families. I feel hope and happiness that a huge part of the world responded. There must be more calls, and louder ones.

Don’t ignore Hamas’ Israeli hostages like you ignored Hamas’ Palestinian hostages. And don’t forget that Gaza is still full of innocent Hamas hostages who are Palestinians. When far-Right Israeli politicians call for collectively punishing the entire population of Gaza for Hamas’s actions, they are proving Hamas right.

I pray and call for the release of all hostages, as I hope for my city to be free from terrorism. I beg the international community to recognize the plight of the Israeli hostages, and I beg the Israelis to recognize that their kidnapped brothers and sisters have joined us Palestinians in being Hamas’s victims.

We should all join in the calls for the IDF to stop its bombardment of areas crowded with civilians—and call for the immediate release of the hostages taken by Hamas.

The only way through this is when we recognize that we are not each other’s enemies: We have a common enemy who must be destroyed.

Hamza Howidy is a Palestinian from Gaza City. He is an accountant and a peace advocate.

The views expressed in this article are the writer’s own.