Reporter’s Notebook: Hostages, peace hopes, and Gaza war’s brutal reality

I’ve been reporting from the Mideast for some 25 years now. And that hackneyed cliche still works … “The more things change … The more they stay the same”. 

Which is not to say the three weeks we’ve stayed here this time have been dull. There have been more ups and downs than a run-down roller coaster at an old Luna Park. 

Our first field shoot was appropriately enough to visit released hostages and families of captives of Hamas. Because, for the majority of Israelis, this is one of the most important topics. 48 people held by terrorists, 20 still alive. Their time of imprisonment, the nearly 2 years of this Gaza war. 

SPAIN’S PRIME MINISTER SPARKS OUTRAGE OVER ALLEGED NUCLEAR THREAT AGAINST ISRAEL

We met the families on Day 700 of the hostages’ captivity. Lishay Lava-Mira begged for her husband Omri to come home. Liron Berman was sure his twin brothers would make it (“They’re strong”). And Keith Siegel, a hostage, himself, for close to 500 days, articulate and healthy, looked beyond the Israeli government for help. “I call upon Trump to continue his efforts.”

Early in our stay there was hope a new peace plan from the U.S. might gain traction. All 48 hostages would be released in exchange for 3,000 Palestinian prisoners, and a cease-fire to assess the next steps. 

That seemingly reasonable plan took hits left, right and center. 

CRUZ SLAMS UN’S ISRAEL ‘GENOCIDE’ CHARGE, PUSHES FOR CONSEQUENCES

First a horror we learned about as we’d finished a quick breakfast at our hotel. Two gunmen shooting up a busy commuter bus and bus stop in Jerusalem, leaving six dead and many more injured. The scenes were horrific and the actions to eliminate the terrorists brave.

Then the next morning, as cameraman Ben and I were doing a routine round-up of the news on the hotel balcony we call home, I noticed in the corner of my eye longtime and dedicated producer Yael inside our studio room jumping up and down.  

Israel had done the unthinkable, targeting Hamas leadership in what should have been the neutral zone of Doha, Qatar. The militants claimed they were discussing the peace plan at the time. That U.S. proposal became as dead as any victims the Israelis managed to hit (apparently no leadership). 

And then to put the final “paid” to peace talks. The much-touted full-scale ground invasion of Gaza City by Israel was launched. To finish off some 3,000 remaining Hamas fighters and their infrastructure.  As Netanyahu put it “What starts in Gaza (the ugly Hamas massacre and hostage-taking of Oct. 7.) ends in Gaza.” 

And this is when the frustration sets in for grizzled combat reporters like me, and our top-notch war team of camera Ben, Producer Yael, and Security Rob. As they have throughout the war, Israel limiting access to the Gaza action.

So we depend on local journalists to show us the horror. The destroyed urban scene. And most importantly, the vast and ugly images of human suffering. Hundreds of thousands of civilians, many not Hamas supporters, having to deal with the living hell that the terrorists and the fighting have imposed on them.  

Remember that line, “I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy”? Well, maybe I’d go with it regarding Hamas, but not these poor Palestinian children who know nothing of the geopolitics of the situation. 

To their credit, IDF officials tell us they are moving slowly through the lunar landscape that is now Gaza. Careful not to endanger civilians and /or hostages. Somehow, with Hamas-backed local health officials indicating 65,000 have already been killed after 2 years of war, it seems somewhat after the fact. 

But that means, again, according to the officials we’ve spoken to, this whole Gaza City process could take as long as four months to complete. Too long for the morale-sapped reservists fighting the war. Too long for the inhabitants enduring it all. Too long for the desperate hostages.

Unless there’s a breakthrough. 

No wonder the locals here look to President Donald Trump and/or a range of countries, bodies, figures (yes, Pope Leo) to try to intercede beyond the local leaders, Israel’s past duels with foes like Hezbollah and Iran seemed like well-tuned 21st century war-making. The fighting in Gaza is more like early 20th century ugly World War I trench warfare. 

In between our live shots and reporting in Tel Aviv, we occasionally nip out to a few of the bars and restaurants that dot this seaside metropolis—despite all, running full tilt. And wonder what this country would be like, as well, of course, what it would be like for the wonderfully diverse Palestinian population without the yoke of war around their shoulders.

No answers this trip.