adminGuy Gilboa-Dalal’s return to Israel after 738 days in Hamas captivity is a powerful reminder of the human cost of Islamist terror and the moral urgency of standing with our ally. The young man’s ordeal, part of the larger release that brought home the last living Israeli hostages, closed a dark chapter that began with the October 7, 2023 massacres and ended only after international pressure and tough negotiations.
In interviews since his release Gilboa-Dalal described brutal mistreatment and harrowing violations at the hands of his captors, including accounts of sexual assault that should shock every decent person. Hearing survivors recount such degrading abuse forces a reckoning: these are not political actors, they are criminals who brutalize innocents and must be dealt with decisively.
The propaganda videos Hamas used to parade hostages before the world only expose the cruelty of an organization that treats people as bargaining chips and trophies, not human beings. Those videos, and the long campaign to win freedom for these victims, underline why Western democracies must never normalize, appease, or treat terrorists as legitimate interlocutors.
Patriots should be furious, not forgiving. Too many in the international establishment offered hollow statements while Israelis endured unimaginable suffering; true solidarity required pressure, leverage, and the willingness to back allies who defend liberty. If decades of weakness taught the world anything, it is that evil fills any vacuum left by hesitation.
Our response should be unambiguous: support Israel’s right to defend its citizens, sustain humanitarian relief for innocents trapped in conflict zones, and keep a laser focus on dismantling terrorist networks that celebrate murder. Leaders who soft-pedal on Hamas are not promoting peace; they are enabling future massacres and consigning more families to grief.
As Americans who cherish life, liberty, and law, we must remember the faces and names of those who suffered and demand accountability. Guy Gilboa-Dalal’s survival and testimony are a call to action — to stand with allies, to call out jihadist terror wherever it hides, and to make sure the brave souls who returned home get the care, justice, and national recognition they deserve.
