Netanyahu spielt Trump – und die Geiseln werden geopfert

**From Ruby Chen, father of Itay Chen, a 19-year-old American member of the IDF who was taken hostage by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023:** 

It has been nearly two years since Oct. 7, 2023, the day my son Itay, a U.S.-Israeli citizen, was taken hostage by Hamas.

For my New York-based family, and for the families of the 47 other hostages still in Hamas dungeons in Gaza, every day since has been a battle against despair. My family had held out hope that the recent cycle of talks for a comprehensive ceasefire and hostage release deal was hours away, and then reality hit us in the face (again) when we learned of the Israeli strike against Hamas leadership in Qatar on Tuesday.

There has been no shortage of deals to end the war that have fallen apart over the past year, and even now, another agreement was on the table. Side letters between negotiators were reportedly being exchanged to close gaps in the deal’s framework. Progress was once again being made.

But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chose — as he has done repeatedly over the past two years — to prioritize revenge, backed by his political allies in Israel, over saving the hostages. In doing so, Netanyahu is betraying not only the hostages and their families, but the U.S., as well, putting Israel’s most crucial ally in a difficult situation in which it will be forced to choose between its own strategic interests in the Middle East and Netanyahu’s political interests.

Read more: [https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/israel-strike-qatar-hamas-leaders-hostages-danger-rcna230462](https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/israel-strike-qatar-hamas-leaders-hostages-danger-rcna230462)