[1]: https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2022/02/israels-...
[2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deir_Yassin_massacre
[3]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabra_and_Shatila_massacre
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilad_Shalit_prisoner_exchange
They were too successful this time, though.
Israel can have a hostage swap any time it wants. The goverment gives priority to other goals, though.
Israel government probably doesn't want all those hostages back too soon, because it might undermine their war goals (many hostages are not Israelis, and many would talk to media, and might disrupt the messaging either via either a stockholm syndrome, or just by talking about what they lived through and seen during the Oct 7 attack). Also no hostages would mean one less reason for fighting Hamas, while destroying their own economy.
What was the spark, Hamas very well knew they could not win, some say it was Russia/Iran that wanted a broader war where the Arab countries would join in knowing it would draw in the USA. This would certainly help Russian/Iranian interests right now with the War Russia is waging on Ukraine. I feel like it's all about weakening the West and causing discourse through out western society. The players like Russia, Iran, North Korea, China all want our Western world to fail.
Maybe we're due for another WW, it will play out the way it plays out I suppose.