As the conflict in Gaza approaches its second year, the stated objectives of the Israeli government are facing intensified scrutiny, both internationally and from within. A central pillar of the war effort—the rescue of hostages taken during the October 7 attacks—is now at the heart of a growing debate over the campaign's true aims and its devastating human cost.

While the Israeli government, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has consistently stated that returning the hostages is a primary goal, a review of the war's progression reveals profound contradictions. Critics argue that the hostages' plight is being used as a justification for a broader military operation that has failed to prioritize their safe return. Indeed if they had been returned as the result of a ceasefire, Netanyahu would have had no basis to have carried out the obliteration of Gaza, the killing of more than 65,000 people, mostly women and children, and the severe wounding of nearly 200,000, many with amputations, who have struggled for treatment, due to the bombing of hospitals and health care facilities.

The Disconnect Between Rhetoric and Action

When the war aims were first announced, the fate of the hostages was notably absent from the official list, only being added later following significant public pressure. Since then, the majority of hostages who have been recovered were repatriated through negotiated cease-fire agreements with Hamas, not through military rescue operations. There have also been tragic instances where the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have killed hostages, including a documented case where three individuals, shirtless and waving a white flag while pleading in Hebrew, were shot dead by Israeli soldiers.

This stands in stark contrast to the IDF's demonstrated capability to execute precise, complex intelligence operations. The military has successfully targeted high-level Hamas and Hezbollah commanders in Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran. This capacity raises a difficult question for the government: if it can locate individual militants across the region, why has it been unable to ascertain the whereabouts of the hostages held in a 140-square-mile territory it heavily surveils?

A Deepening Humanitarian Catastrophe

The situation for those still in captivity is dire, mirroring the plight of the broader Gazan population. The hostages are believed to be held in a region where the healthcare system has been decimated by constant bombardment. According to the United Nations, over 1,700 medical personnel have been killed, and vital supplies are severely restricted. A social media post on Sunday from Israel's Foreign Ministry highlighted the case of one hostage, held for over 700 days, who is suffering from a serious degenerative eye condition without access to necessary treatment.

This humanitarian crisis, characterized by widespread famine and displacement, inevitably impacts the hostages. While Israeli officials and international commentators like Piers Morgan have condemned Hamas for the malnourished state of returned captives, there appears to be no acknowledgement as to the conditions under which the hostages are being held, and that all hospitals in the enclave have either been destroyed or severely damaged, and that medical supplies into the Gaza Strip have been all but curtailed –at the hands of the Israeli government. Aid agencies note that food and water is scarce for all two million people in Gaza. Whilst Israel is openly critical of captives being held in tunnels, which Israel describes as "terror dungeons," these may in fact be the only shelters providing some protection for the hostages from the relentless aerial bombardment and ground operations.

Re-examining the October 7 Atrocities

The conflict was triggered by the horrific Hamas-led attacks on October 7, which resulted in the deaths of approximately 1,200 Israelis and foreigners and the abduction of 251 people. The brutality of that day is not in dispute; however, the specific details of the atrocities have been the subject of significant propaganda and subsequent clarification.

Initial reports, of widespread sexual assaults and rape, beheadings, and babies being burned alive fuelled a global narrative of unparalleled savagery. Many of these most graphic claims, including babies being burned in microwave ovens, and 40 babies beheaded, have since been discredited. Furthermore, the official Israeli death toll was revised down from 1,400 to 1,195. Government spokesman Mark Regev explained at the time, that the initial overcount included "bodies that were so badly burnt we thought they were ours; in the end, apparently they were Hamas terrorists."

This revision has prompted questions about the circumstances of those deaths. With dozens of Israeli helicopter gunships active over the area and reports emerging of the implementation of the "Hannibal Directive"—a controversial procedure to prevent captures, even at the cost of captives' lives—the full truth of what happened on October 7 remains complex. As one Israeli pilot told Haaretz, the chaos was such that they (the pilots) were firing indiscriminately, unable to distinguish between militants and civilians.

The Political Context and an Uncertain Future

Hamas, which won the 2006 Palestinian legislative elections in a process deemed fair by international observers like former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, has been wholly dehumanized in the wake of October 7. While its responsibility for launching the attack is clear, the group's complete demonization has complicated the path to a political solution. Recent recognitions of Palestinian statehood by several Western nations have been explicitly conditioned on an Israeli demand, that Hamas have no role in future governance, a stance also taken by Arab countries.

As time passes, a full and impartial understanding of the events of October 7 and the subsequent war becomes increasingly difficult to achieve. While Hamas bears undeniable responsibility for initiating a terrorist attack, the ongoing military campaign, with its staggering cost in Palestinian lives and the unresolved fate of the hostages, continues to raise fundamental questions about what occurred, where the accountability lies, and the ultimate objective of a so-called war that is being more and more characterized as a mass murder, and a potential genocide.

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