On the Return of Hostages Held by Hamas

On October 7th, 2023, Hamas invaded Israel, murdered 1,200 people in the largest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, and committed heinous atrocities, including the systematic use of sexual violence and torture.

On that day, Hamas took 251 people, 30 of them children, hostage.

Now, after two years (736 days) of torture, humiliation, and starvation as Hamas’ captives in the tunnels of Gaza, we express our profound relief at the return of 20 living hostages.

They are home at last.The nightmare that they and their families have endured is finally over.

Let there be no mistake: The release of hostages should never have been a concession to be negotiated. It was a legal and moral imperative of the first order, rooted in the most basic norms of international humanitarian and human rights law.

We will continue to advocate to ensure that the bodies of the remaining hostages killed in captivity are returned for proper burial, as mandated by law and by the dictates of our common humanity.

The return of these hostages marks the first step in ending the war that Hamas began with its October 7th invasion— a war that caused death, devastation, and terrible suffering. May all those who have been harmed by the region’s conflict now benefit from the safety of a sustained ceasefire and the urgent provision of adequate shelter, food, and medicine.

This moment also serves as a fragile step towards healing and rebuilding, and the right of all people in the region to live in safety and dignity.

That future requires not equivocation, but moral clarity, including the categorical condemnation of terror, the affirmation of human rights for all, and a commitment to a sustainable ceasefire that can, with time and hard work, become peace, rooted in truth and accountability.

At the RWCHR, we will continue to support sincere efforts to build lasting peace for the region and a two-state solution, involving two democratic states for two peoples, living in peace and mutual recognition.

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