This week, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) announced the rescue of Farhan Al-Qadi, one of Hamas's still-living hostages held since October 7th, in "a complex operation." Representative Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) celebrated the news in a recent appearance on CNN, saying it demonstrated the Jewish State's commitment to returning the hostages home and that blame for the lack of a peace deal rests in Hamas's hands rather than Israel's.
"It is great news for the State of Israel. Obviously, Israel is continuing to show that if they have actionable intelligence, they will go and get their hostages," said Rep. Moskowitz, "but obviously, it reminds us how many families are still waiting for [October 7th mastermind Yahya] Sinwar to release the remaining hostages."
An online article by CNN described how Al-Qadi, a 52-year-old Bedouin citizen of Israel, was found alone in a Hamas tunnel underneath the Gaza Strip. Despite the hardship and terror Al-Qadi faced during his 11-month captivity, his return was described as "jubilant," while his family also celebrated the operation to rescue him was bloodless.
Still, Hamas is holding 104 hostages, and 34 are sadly assumed dead. Rep. Moskowitz sadly suggested that "it does not appear to me that we have made dramatic progress" in getting these remaining people home.
However, "it does not mean that there are not negotiations going on and that we are not getting closer, right? But we just do not know how close. It is not clear to anybody whether Sinwar is interested in a deal at all, and it does not appear to me that pressure has worked, whether it is international pressure or local pressure," the Florida Congressman clarified.
More egregiously, Moskowitz noted that more pressure appears to be placed on Israel to end the war rather than Hamas, whose horrific actions on October 7th started the latest round of fighting in the first place.
"Sinwar is a single individual who is now both the political and military head of Hamas, who can end this war, end the suffering of the Palestinian people, get a ceasefire, and return the hostages. It is all up to him. This idea that it is up to Israel is just not accurate. Israel cannot agree to allow Hamas to remain as the government power [of Gaza], and if that is what Sinwar wants, where he remains in charge, then I do not know that we are ever going to get a deal," Moskowitz concluded.
