But that doesn’t mean I have to think Hamas are the good guys.

Okay Hamas are not good guys, not at all. While I don't think persecuting war criminals is viable in Gaza even if they wanted to, even setting that aside they have a lot of not very good deeds under their belt. That said, they can't be blamed for taking hostages. It sucks for them and their families, no doubt about that, but on the other hand we have 2mil+ people's lives at stake. The hostages, and the Israeli administration's blatant disregard for their lives, have been a decisive issue in pitting the Israeli public against the government. They're also Hamas's only card in negotiations, or in other words the only currency Hamas has to pay for Gazan lives and "freedom". It sucks that lives are being used as currency, but that's a case of don't blame the player, blame the game. Of course the actual treatment of hostages during and after October 7th is a different story and there's some Hague-worthy nonsense there, but the statement "Hamas took hostages on October 7th" has nothing indictable on its own.