Qatar-based author and Former Israeli Knesset Member Azmi Bishara said in an October 8, 2024 interview on Al-Araby TV (Qatar) that it would have been "better" had Hamas only stormed military bases and taken soldiers hostage during its October 7, 2023 invasion of southern Israel, and he asserted that once Hamas realized it had taken civilians – including women, children, and the elderly – as hostages, it should have released them immediately. He explained that civilian hostages are a burden, that captive soldiers are a much more effective bargaining chip, and that immediately releasing the civilian hostages would have won Hamas the moral high ground, giving it significant political benefits. Later in the interview, he said: "We cannot say to the world that we are being subjected to a genocide and at the same time write on social media that we are winning. How can you be winning if you are subject to a genocide?"
Azmi Bishara: "Had [Hamas] stopped at storming military bases and [abducting] soldiers, it would have been better. Once Hamas realized it was holding civilians – pregnant women, elderly people, and children, it should have released them, because they are a burden. They do not serve you in any way. Everything that you got for them, you could have gotten in exchange for a soldier or two.
"I was of the opinion that once [Hamas] learned that they had all those [civilian hostages], and that the situation was out of control, because others have abducted them – it should have released them immediately, and win the moral high ground, as well as the political benefit, because ultimately, it is not a moral issue, but a political one. To this day, the [civilian hostages] are a burden for you. The [abducted] soldiers are the main thing. You can negotiate swapping these soldiers for all the Palestinian prisoners.
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"We cannot say to the world that we are being subjected to a genocide and at the same time write on social media that we are winning. How can you be winning if you are subject to a genocide? Either we are winning, or it is a genocide."