Some 245 days after Hamas kidnapped them from an outdoor music festival on Oct. 7, 2023, four Israeli hostages are free, liberated in a daring daylight Israeli commando raid. Israel erupted in rejoicing at the news that Noa Argamani, 26, Almog Meir Jan, 22, Andrey Kozlov, 27, and Shlomi Ziv, 41, are safe in their loved ones’ arms. Many around the world shared the feeling.

A triumph for an Israeli security establishment that has appeared otherwise bogged down in a long war against Hamas, the hostage rescue is also a tactical victory for the United States, which supplied Israel with crucial intelligence. Deliverance for all 116 remaining hostages is a legitimate Israeli objective and a high Biden administration priority–as it should be because five of those being held against their will are U.S. citizens.

There is much we still do not know about what happened as Israeli forces fought their way in and out of the crowded Nuseirat area of central Gaza Saturday. One key data point is the precise Palestinian death toll; alas, it is surely substantial. Hamas officials in Gaza report more than 200 killed; Israeli sources speak of fewer than 100. Neither said how many were noncombatants or fighters. Clearly, though, Palestinian civilians lost their lives as the Israelis, supported by tanks and airstrikes, maneuvered in a carefully selected battle zone. (The combat cost one Israeli officer his life.)

What is safe to say is that everyone killed Saturday would likely still be alive if Hamas’s forces had not seized hostages–as part of an operation on Oct. 7 in which they also intentionally killed hundreds of civilians–and deliberately held them in a densely populated area.

The prewar population of 2.3 million numbers bespeak immense human suffering–especially for Gaza’s children–and the urgency of halting the fighting. There is a way to achieve that, at least temporarily: the plan President Biden unveiled, under which a six-week truce would enable a surge of humanitarian aid and an initial exchange of Hamas’s hostages (Israel believes 41 of the 116 are dead) for hundreds of Palestinian militants held in Israeli prisons, as well as an Israeli pullback from populated areas. Two subsequent phases would allow for talks on a more permanent cease-fire, a final hostage release and reconstruction.

Yet the Biden-backed plan–commitment to a path toward a permanent cease-fire–represents the most forthcoming one Israel has entertained so far. For its part, Hamas has balked, with its military leader in Gaza, Yehiya Sinwar, reportedly telling Arab mediators that he will accept nothing less than a permanent cease-fire and total Israeli withdrawal. This, despite the suffering of Gaza’s people and, reportedly, threats from Qatar’s government to expel Hamas political leaders and freeze their assets. On Sunday, national security adviser Jake Sullivan portrayed Hamas as the main obstacle to a deal, telling CBS News’s Margaret Brennan that “if Hamas would say yes … a better day for the Palestinian people would begin to unfold.”

The impact of Saturday’s hostage rescue on prospects for a deal is unclear. It might harden both sides’ positions, by making Mr. Netanyahu confident of military victory and Hamas determined to avenge an embarrassing defeat. Secretary of State Antony Blinken returns to the Middle East this week for more long-shot negotiation. Those who genuinely seek a better day for the Palestinians–and Israelis–will be wishing him success.

* Guest editorial by The Washington Post.