Editorial: It is a great relief to see some Israeli hostages freed but their release is no victory in the war against Hamas terror

​Thirteen Israeli hostages were released yesterday from Gaza, the first of more than 200 civilians seized by Hamas.

​Ten Thais also taken by Hamas on October 7 were freed from captivity, while more than 100 Palestinian terrorists were freed from Israeli jails. Israel says its pause in attacks on Gaza will be extended by a day for every 10 hostages released. At that pace, it will take weeks to release all those held by Hamas.

Women and children are being released first, and it is a joy to see them emerge from Gaza. It is also of a relief to see the attacks on Gaza pause.

But this is hardly time for celebration. It is the outworking of negotiations with some of the most savage terrorists in modern history.

The current war in the Middle East is wholly the culpability of Hamas, whose fanatical anti Jewish views are widely shared in Gaza, as evidenced by the obscene footage of crowds of men beating the corpses of murdered Israelis, including a young German woman who was among hundreds of young people massacred at a rave on the morning of the attacks. These were grievous crimes against humanity, which as the German chancellor Olaf Scholz said not only conferred on Israel a right to defend itself but a duty to do so.

Watching the releases is a reminder of the 2011 prisoner exchange in which a single seized Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, was freed for more than 1,000 Hamas prisoners.

If ever a government refuses to negotiate with hostage takers, the government seems callous, even despicable. Yet it is hard not to see a link between these events. Hamas knows that Israel does not send its soldiers on suicide missions, and will do everything it can to bring them home alive. Such resolve is admirable, yet makes Israel vulnerable against Islamic fanatic barbarians who have no regard for life, and will sacrifice people on their own side to inflict maximum casualties on Israeli Jews.