Israel is at war and too wounded to withdraw from brutally retaliating upon the sieged Gaza. Close to 9,000 lives have been lost in Gaza as a result of the strikes, whereas Hamas, the self-proclaimed militia leader of the Palestinians, is unapologetic about the massacre of more than 1,400 Israelis on 7 October. Over 240 Israelis are still held hostage in Gaza, including infants, children, teenagers, and senior citizens. Ordinary Palestinians under occupation don’t have choices. Yet, Hamas has a choice to release the hostages and put an end to the loss of lives in Gaza. Mousa Abu Marzouk, a Hamas official, said the responsibility to protect Gazans is of the United Nations or Israel according to the Geneva Convention because 75 per cent of them are refugees. Such is the irony of armed struggles, better-called madness — Hamas believes it won when it carried the surprise attack, shattering the invincibility of Israel