The United States on Monday announced that a planned four-day pause in fighting between Israel and Hamas has been extended by another two days to secure the release of an additional 20 hostages (adding to the 50 freed as part of the initial deal). The decision by Israel to negotiate over the release of hostages in exchange for releasing Palestinian prisoners, including some who were convicted of attempted murder, is a fraught one.

Israel is no stranger to how such exchanges come back to haunt it. In 2011, Israel agreed to release 1,027 Palestinian prisoners to secure the release of Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier who had been kidnapped by Hamas and held hostage for five years. One of the prisoners released was Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas leader in Gaza who served as mastermind of the October 7 attacks. The huge haul Hamas received for a single Israeli soldier was no doubt one motivating factor in the terrorist group’s decision to take hostages once again.

That said, with Hamas and other Gaza terrorist groups having kidnapped 240 people, and heavy pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his fellow ministers to secure their release, it was impossible as a practical matter to pass on an opportunity to free dozens of women and children from the clutches of Hamas. The videos of boys and girls who had spent six weeks in captivity in Gaza reuniting with parents, siblings, and friends were emotionally powerful. And while the ratio of three Palestinian prisoners for every one hostage was lopsided, it was not as much so as in the Shalit deal.

The fact that Hamas was willing to negotiate a four-day cease-fire, and then eager to extend it by another two days, is a testament to the fact that Israel’s campaign in Gaza has so far been effective. Employing their military edge in the land, sea, and air, Israelis have gained control of most of northern Gaza, killed thousands of terrorists, uncovered stashes of weapons, and begun to dismantle or disable Hamas’s vast network of underground tunnels. The success of Israel can most dramatically be seen by the fact that rockets, which had been fired at Israeli civilians by the thousands in the early days of the conflict, have been launched much less frequently.

But there is still a lot more work to be done. Hamas is still in power; it still controls large parts of Gaza, including its stronghold in Khan Younis, the largest city in the southern part of the Strip; much of the terror group’s underground infrastructure is believed to remain intact; and its senior leadership is still alive, obviously including those living in Qatar.

In the coming days, as the temporary cease-fire expires, there will be growing international pressure to make it permanent. But that would bring an end to the war with Hamas still in power and able to rebuild. Abandoning the primary Israeli objective of destroying Hamas in exchange for the release of more hostages would only encourage Hamas and other terrorist groups to take more captives in the future, with the understanding that doing so will ultimately protect them.

Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant has vowed that when fighting resumes, Israel’s “strength will be greater, and it will take place throughout the entire Strip.” Israel should be given the leeway to continue to pummel Hamas until the terrorist group is no more.