The imminent release of hostages from Gaza under President Trump's peace deal, which was announced yesterday, is cause for celebration and will bring relief to families who have endured two years of anguish. But this moment masks a strategic catastrophe that threatens to perpetuate an endless cycle of abduction and murder.
At the heart of Israel's vulnerability lies an unspoken social contract: citizens serve in the military, and the state promises to do "everything" to bring them home—through rescue or negotiation at a "heavy price." This principle of mutual responsibility, the cornerstone of Israeli society's resilience, has become a strategic liability.
Israel's demonstrated willingness to pay extraordinary prices—releasing 1,150 prisoners in the 1985 Jibril deal for three soldiers, or 1,027 for Gilad Shalit—has transformed every Israeli into a high-value target. Enemies understand that capturing one Israeli achieves strategic objectives impossible on the battlefield.
The social contract must evolve. The state's promise cannot remain "we will trade for you." It must become "we will destroy those who capture you." This shift from retrieval-through-concession to deterrence-through-retribution changes the enemy's expected outcome from strategic victory to total annihilation, removing the incentive for hostage-taking entirely.
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