Hamas must release all hostages immediately

The grotesque violence committed by Hamas included the abduction of more than 200 people, including infants and seniors.

- SHIRA LOEWENBERG

The horrific attacks in southern Israel by Hamas on October 7 were well-documented by that terrorist organization, who proudly posted videos of their savagery for the world to see.

More than 1,400 Israelis were slaughtered and thousands more injured, including babies who were beheaded, the elderly and disabled shot dead, and victims so riddled with automatic bullets that their faces were torn apart.

The grotesque violence committed by Hamas included the abduction of more than 200 people, including infants and seniors.

Hamas has so far freed only four hostages, an American mother and daughter, and two Israeli women, ages 79 and 85, all for what Hamas called humanitarian grounds. Its begrudging benevolence is a start. But it is not nearly enough.

All of the hostages must be immediately released.

It's not my opinion. It is a core tenet of international law, which prohibits the deliberate murder and abduction of innocent civilians. Even in war, individuals are protected. If the individual is a combatant, he or she is accorded protection as a prisoner of war; if the individual is a civilian, he or she is protected by Article 34 of the 1949 Geneva Convention IV, which states that the taking of hostages is prohibited.