The last week has seen, as of November 28, the release of 69 civilians held hostage in Gaza in exchange for 180 Palestinian prisoners as part of a short-term cease-fire agreement between Israeli authorities and Palestinian armed groups. While many have rightly hailed the release of civilians held hostage by Hamas after the killings of hundreds of Israelis and other civilians on October 7 — hostage-taking is a war crime — less attention has been focused on why exactly Israel has so many