hamas is not a rational actor. that should have been obvious from day one, and you'd have to be pretty fucking stupid not to figure it out immediately. you don't treat hamas with respect or as an equal or as a rational negotiating partner. you have to step on it's throat until it coughs.

i consequently have a different suggestion to israel, at this point, and it's probably overdue.

if the previous offer of negotiation was to release the hostages immediately or face complete annihilation of your city-state, hamas has chosen complete annihilation, and the people that live there are overwhelmingly in support of it. that's reflective of a low level of education in the region (and the culture..) but so be it. you can't fix stupid.

israel actually needs to escalate, in response.

israel should start executing palestinian prisoners daily until the hostages are released, and the number killed per day should slowly increase until the hostages are released.

that's how you deal with hamas. that's what hamas understands.