Imagine confronting an enemy’s ideology from both inside and out. A freed hostage and a former Hamas insider just shared their harrowing insights with global diplomats. They reveal a chilling truth: this conflict extends far beyond battlefields into a deep, pervasive ideological struggle. Are we truly understanding the enemy’s core beliefs?

The recent testimony of Luis Har, a freed hostage, and Mosab Hassan Yousef, a former Hamas insider, presented a chilling and critical perspective to international diplomats in Tel Aviv, underscoring that the ongoing conflict with Hamas is not merely a military confrontation but an expansive ideological war impacting ideas, memory, and survival itself.

Luis Har, aged 71 and an Argentinian-Israeli citizen, recounted his harrowing experience of captivity, his voice steady yet heavy with the profound trauma of his ordeal. He expressed a deep-seated distrust, stating, “I don’t trust anyone, not even Mosab, not even us,” extending his skepticism to political and religious leaders, and drawing a stark equivalence between fanatical elements on all sides and Hamas’s extremism. His primary concern remained his family, his children, and his grandchildren, reflecting a personal struggle beyond political allegiances.

Mosab Hassan Yousef, known for his collaboration with Israeli intelligence, provided an urgent and conviction-filled account of his 15-year battle against Hamas ideology and operations. He cautioned that if Hamas were to succeed in destroying Israel, its ambitions would inevitably extend to targeting Arabs, other Muslim sects, and the West, asserting that jihad knows no limits.

Yousef firmly insisted that the brutal October 7 assault was not about Palestine, but rather a religiously motivated act. He emphatically stated, “On October 7, Hamas did not kill and kidnap in the name of Palestine. They killed and kidnapped in the name of Allah,” thus framing the atrocity as a fundamentalist religious campaign rather than a nationalistic struggle.

The powerful discussion, hosted by the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs (JCFA) at Tel Aviv’s Carlton Hotel, attracted a distinguished assembly of ambassadors and senior diplomats from nations including the Netherlands, Finland, China, Russia, Chile, Congo, Uganda, Estonia, India, and Mali, highlighting the global resonance and diplomatic urgency of the issues presented.

Dan Diker, President of the JCFA, delivered a stark warning regarding the potential implications of European recognition of a Palestinian state. He argued that such a move would be perceived as a dangerous reward for Hamas’s “al-Aqsa flood invasion”—an act of mass murder, rape, and kidnapping—conveying the perilous message that terror and mass murder can yield political gains. Diker, however, also praised Israel’s democratic resilience during these challenging times, noting its ability to allow public protests even amidst crisis, showcasing a strength often misconstrued as weakness by its adversaries.

Har, in his private reflections, remained critical of prevailing ideologies, observing, “When it suits them, they are Hamas; when it doesn’t, they play the victim.” He poignantly addressed the pervasive indoctrination within Hamas, where children are taught to hate Jews from birth, becoming the “next shaheed [martyr].” For Har, the only pathway to lasting peace lies in a profound change of ideology, commencing with an education for peace and love.

The combined testimonies of Luis Har and Mosab Hassan Yousef—one scarred by captivity, the other by intimate knowledge from within—offered a bitter, defiant, and uncompromising assessment. Their urgent warnings served as a powerful reminder that the war ignited on October 7 is not merely a physical confrontation but an entrenched battle of ideas, a struggle for memory, and ultimately, a fight for survival in a region consumed by complex and deeply rooted conflicts.