This week, we were given a sudden and jarring reminder that Americans were part of the October 7 attacks in Israel. Hamas released a hostage video showing Hersh Goldberg-Polin, an Israeli-American, alive and still in Hamas custody. The veracity of the video, as well as other details, is being actively researched by the government. But the point is clear: Hamas still has Americans hostage.

It's unclear if this news made a ripple in the White House's thinking. It's transparent no one at the pro-Hamas protests at Columbia University and other places in the United States cares about this fact. They demand a ceasefire while a terrorist group keeps American hostages as a prize.

CBS News reports, "In the video, Goldberg-Polin shows that he is missing his left hand, and there are some marks visible on his head and face, but he speaks clearly in Hebrew and appears otherwise thin but healthy. The video includes English subtitles, which CBS News has verified as accurate."

Before this video, it was unclear if he was even alive. And news of his fate matches that of others. We don't know how many hostages held by Hamas are even alive. During recent negotiations, Hamas admitted they couldn't verify the whereabouts of hostages or even their current status.

That's partially why none of the negotiations have gone anywhere. Any possible agreement either gets rejected by the terrorist group or Hamas says it can't deliver hostages.

You won't see anyone marching for Hersh Goldberg-Polin in the campus protests. The so-called "peace" segment of the left, which claims to represent the marginalized, can't find one second of interest in a kidnapped hostage, a man who lost his hand, and more. The far-left doesn't care about that or the state of this man. They only care about things that would aid the hostage takers: Hamas, Iran, and other terrorist groups.

Instead, we're lectured to send more humanitarian aid to the region. The progress on that front is less than stellar, too. i24 News reports that Biden's vaunted "humanitarian pier" is under attack. "Gazan terrorists fired mortar shells on Wednesday towards the construction work on the humanitarian pier being built off the coast of Gaza. i24NEWS has learned that several pieces of American engineering equipment were damaged in the attack. In addition, one person was slightly injured while running to a protected area."

No good deed goes unterrorized, it seems. American hostages lose limbs and become emaciated. American humanitarian efforts are bombed. And people are injured in terrorist attacks on humanitarian construction efforts. Yet, the radical protestors at American universities demand that you take the side of those terrorizing.

It's also unclear who the White House is listening to on this point. Biden seems intent on lecturing the Israelis on what they should do at every turn. Meanwhile, Americans are being kept hostage. It's becoming trite to bring up, but were this Donald Trump, the hostage, and his family would be 24/7 coverage on cable news. With Biden, this is not the leading story.

It's been more than 200 days since Hamas attacked and took hostages, everyone from babies to adults with severe medical issues. It's likely many of them are dead. It's not even clear whether or not Hamas is using artificial intelligence to generate fake hostage videos. Given the morally depraved people we're dealing with here, anything is possible.

This should be the number one issue for the United States. Hostages are the first priority, and then we can worry about humanitarian aid. Instead, the far left has us working backward. We're told we need to worry about the plight of the oppressors, those abusing and violating human rights and murdering innocents. 

We cannot spend one more second appeasing the interests of those aligned with terrorist organizations. When the far-left wants to return to the adult's table and act like a responsible human being again, we can talk about dealing with the situation. But it's become increasingly clear that this conflict has only one rational side. 

Americans are trapped in Gaza by monsters. We should be doing everything necessary to remedy that captivity. Biden traded the farm away for a WNBA player when Russia was involved. But there are still prisoners in Russia and hostages in Gaza. From Afghanistan to Gaza, we're learning that you'd better be high-profile. Otherwise, the White House will not care about you in the slightest. 

The White House increasingly takes stances that are more aligned with the far left than common sense. That is a terrifying thought for those captured by Hamas and in the region generally. What are our allies thinking if American citizens can't count on the President to do everything to protect them?