A retired George Mason professor argues Hamas freed the hostages because they had become a liability
What began as an insurance policy ended as a burden that drew fire, drained resources, and lost public sympathy.
blogs.timesofisrael.com · When Insurance Becomes Liability: Why Hamas Chose to Release the HostagesAs the last Israeli hostages were freed under an American brokered deal, Yehuda Lukacs, a retired George Mason University professor of global affairs, argues the release was not a "moral awakening" but a recognition that the captives had flipped from protection to burden.
What had been an insurance policy, a human shield and a bargaining card that kept the world talking to Hamas, had become "a magnet for destruction." Lukacs writes: "When your most prized asset becomes too costly to hold, you have already lost control of the game."
For two years the captives were treated as protection. Then Israel's assault on Gaza City showed the captives were drawing more fire, not holding it back.
Keeping them also grew harder and more damaging. After vast destruction and a staggering civilian death toll in Gaza, defending the holding of civilians became untenable even among sympathizers abroad, and the captives came to look like proof of a failed strategy. Inside Gaza, two years of war had shattered command, exposed tunnels, and fractured communications. Feeding, moving, and hiding the last captives, while diverting scarce resources to guard them amid leaks and local resentment, turned them into "a ticking bomb inside Hamas's own network."
So Hamas exchanged a weakened asset for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and a humanitarian pause, a halt in fighting to allow aid and movement, while presenting the move as a step toward peace. Lukacs calls the swap "the most precise measure of its defeat" in strategy and perception: it gave up its strongest card because holding it hurt more than letting it go.
Questions people ask
Who is Hamas and how did the hostages get taken?
Hamas is the armed Palestinian group that has governed Gaza since 2007. It is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union, and Israel, and it led the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel in which about 1,200 people were killed and about 250 were taken hostage.
What was the Trump Gaza deal mentioned in the story?
It refers to the later stages of a U.S. mediated agreement, pushed by Donald Trump after his return to the presidency, that paired hostage and prisoner releases with ceasefires and aid access. The details were reached in phases, and the final hostage releases were presented as part of a broader plan to wind down the war.
What does a humanitarian pause mean in practice?
It is a temporary halt in fighting meant to let humanitarian aid enter, civilians move more safely, and exchanges take place. It is not a formal end to a war, and past pauses in Gaza have lasted days or weeks before fighting resumed or talks continued.