Commentary | Without the Return of our Hostages, There Can Be No Defense

Iron Dome. The “Trophy” APS. The “Arrow’ missile system. Unmanned aerial vehicles. The ‘Pager Night”. Nasrallah’s elimination. Countless advanced and impressive defense technologies. And 101 hostages who are still languishing in Hamas tunnels—about half of them, according to estimates, are still alive.

Israel stands out as a global security powerhouse. Here at Israel Defense, it is our job to report on this. But no weapon, no matter how sophisticated, is enough if the moral imperative to free the hostages held in Gaza for 365 days is not at the top of the priority list. No technology in the world can atone for Israel’s failure to do everything in its power to bring its citizens, and soldiers, home. Israel cannot afford to be a technological leader while failing in the most basic human missions. Technology is a means, but freeing the hostages is a duty—Israel’s most important moral obligation.

Israel's offensive and defensive systems are among the best in the world—but what value does this knowledge hold if it’s not used to bring our people back? A country that cannot care for its citizens and soldiers held in captivity begins to lose its credibility in the eyes of other nations. A country that cannot care for its captives also loses credibility in the eyes of its own people.

Furthermore, Israel’s success in the global defense market is largely dependent on its moral standing, and the release of the hostages is a crucial element. You cannot separate technological development and global deals from the reality on the ground. Social and security resilience are intertwined, and when the country fails to bring back its captive soldiers and citizens, it raises significant moral challenges in facing future strategic and military threats.

The key question remains: Can Israel continue to boast about its security and defense capabilities when its citizens and soldiers remain in enemy captivity, under subhuman conditions? When many who could already be among us have returned in coffins? The answer is clear: it cannot. Every defense deal and technological breakthrough will be limited as long as the hostages remain unreleased. 

Defense is not only measured by the number of advanced weapons a country possesses, but by the protection it offers each citizen—on the battlefield and beyond enemy lines. By its moral standing. Every military campaign, every technological venture, and every security deal must begin and end with the understanding that the true security of the state depends, first and foremost, on bringing the hostages home.