One of the striking things about the coverage of the Israel/Hamas war is how underreported the story of the hostages Hamas took has been.

Obviously, we know about the hostages. How could we not, since they have been a key part of Hamas’ strategy to hamstring Israel’s conduct in the war? Hamas has counted on those hostages to help shield themselves from attacks–although that strategy hasn’t worked that well.

It’s not that the media hasn’t reported that hostages were taken, but reporting the fact that they exist is not quite the same as explaining why Hamas took them.

They are human shields. They are a currency that Hamas intends to use in order to get a better deal from Israel.

This is profoundly immoral, of course, but more importantly, it exemplifies Hamas’ attitude toward human life. It is a window into Hamas’ moral core.

These are our hostages. Babies as young as 5 months. Holocaust survivors. Parents. The sick and injured. Old and frail. Brothers and sisters. Sons and daughters. Husbands and wives.

Learn their names. Treat them like they were your family. Demand newspapers tell their story.… pic.twitter.com/3opOw9poJn

— Aviva Klompas (@AvivaKlompas) October 15, 2023

The nature of Hamas’ crimes explains exactly why Hamas must be utterly destroyed, and why the war must be prosecuted to the point where that happens.

Not every war is about existential issues, however much we speak of them that way. Some wars are about settling issues using the force of arms, while others are about the survival of one side or the other. What lengths to which the combatants can morally go to win the war are at least partially determined by the war aims of the combatants.

This includes collateral damage, or put less clinically, the number of inevitable civilian casualties that are a horrible consequence of any war.

Hamas’ actions, not only on the horrible day of their initial attacks but subsequent to those attacks, explain why Israel must take extraordinary measures to eradicate Hamas. Hamas’s war aims are not resolving a territorial dispute but rather the extermination of an entire people. They don’t currently have the means to achieve that goal, but they are willing to use “any means necessary” to do so.

That's a hostage, not a prisoner. She was not captured, she was abducted. https://t.co/hz9zRKIyBZ

— Very Swell Nice Guy (@HighCaliberGen1) October 16, 2023

This is fundamentally a different kind of war than, say, the first Iraq war. Saddam Hussein was evil, and the invasion of Kuwait had to be reversed, but George H.W. Bush was likely right to stop short of Baghdad. Victory in that war did not require doing so, although a bit more pounding of the Iraqi army might have done some good. I can’t answer that question.

The war on Hamas is more like that against al Qaeda or ISIS, or…gasp…Hitler. When you are fighting genocidal maniacs the only long-term solution is destroying them utterly. The differences, as they say, are irreconcilable.

The vicious attacks of last weekend were more than enough to justify total war against Hamas, but the continued holding of the hostage is quite the exclamation point. Hamas fights using not just weapons, but human shields. This is barbaric, and in this case, also proof that they care as little for civilian victims in Gaza as those in Israel. Despite unbearable pressure from Israel in the form of shutting down utilities, Hamas persisted in holding hostages.

Hamas will kill anybody on any side of the war to protect itself. It shoots from residential neighborhoods, bases itself in hospitals, and uses mosques as armories. It has one goal: kill Jews.

The hostages are a daily reminder that Hamas is utterly evil. We have no idea what they are doing with the hostages, other than glorifying their own brutality, but we can imagine.

The media should be reminding the world every day that Hamas isn’t really fighting a war over territory or autonomy; they are doing so because they are genocidal maniacs who will violate every moral stricture to achieve their goal.

As Western voices call for restraint, we must remember who Hamas really is and why there is no negotiating with them. They are not ashamed of their brutality–and for that reason, every supporter of Hamas should be ashamed for them.

That they are not, and that many in the MSM are glossing over their continued brutality, should shock the conscience.