Taken by Hamas: “Every Second of Our Lives Is Trauma.” | FP IN ISRAEL

It’s hard to imagine anything taking greater priority than returning the 136 innocent people who are being held hostage by Hamas. But the Israeli government’s twin goals of destroying Hamas and bringing the hostages home are considered by many Israelis to be at odds with each other. How can both be achieved at the same time?

The Free Press’s Bari Weiss traveled to Israel, visited Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, and spoke to family members of those taken by Hamas, including a sit-down in Jerusalem with Rachel Goldberg, whose 23-year-old son Hersh is still in captivity.

Weiss and a team of Free Pressers spent a week in Israel, speaking to survivors of October 7, soldiers, reservists who are fighting in Gaza, family members of hostages, Israeli refugees, Arab-Israelis, Palestinians in Ramallah, politicians, thinkers, journalists, writers, and the people on the ground who are living in and fighting against the war. Follow us on X, Instagram, and TikTok to hear those conversations.

Taking Free Press on the road requires producers, camera operators, researchers, and a lot of coffee. The best way to support our ongoing coverage of the war in the Middle East, and everything else that we publish, is by becoming a paid subscriber to The Free Press