it's not a question of trying to prioritize a hostage deal vs fighting hamas, as though hamas is willing to just hand back the hostages if you were to ask them nicely. this is a false narrative being irresponsibly presented by the media.

the nature of hamas' demands makes a negotiation virtually impossible. they are demanding things like the release of mass murderers (and what are they going to do if you release them? kill more jews. that would be a losing interaction) and the recognition of a sovereign state in gaza, which is a ridiculous proposition.

everybody wants the hostages released but so long as hamas holds to absurd demands and insists on trying to extort concessions the process is a nonstarter and the outcome is impossible. it is a more realistic tactic to get the hostages back by forcing hamas to surrender via the use of overwhelming force than it is to expect them to release the hostages in exchange for one of their nonsensical demands.

history will understand this; that's not a real choice, it's a false narrative that doesn't actually exist.