Shalom all.

Many concerned and well-intentioned people in Israel and abroad are unhappy that some individuals express disappointment of the hostage-release / prisoner-swap / ceasefire “deal” that Israel agreed to with Hamas, a blood-thirsty, totally immoral and depraved terrorist organization. Even more so, when one of the negotiators of the deal was Qatar, the financial backbone of Hamas apart from Iran. 

Don’t get me wrong. Even those who are most hardened against the hostage deal would not have dry eyes when seeing hostages released and reunited with family and friends. Tears rolled freely as we watched a hostage kiss his wife and learn the name of his child born after he was taken hostage. A father’s embrace of his son for the first time after more than 16 months expresses the heart of all fathers upon the return of their sons who were lost and are now found. All of Israel rejoices when one of her sons or daughters returns home after being held hostage by ruthless terrorists for close to 500 days. Today’s events mark the sixth release under the present deal that almost fell apart at the beginning of the week. But, with the joy of our sons returning, there is the accompany sorrow and anxiety regarding our sons who are still being held hostage.

Hamas claimed that Israel violated the terms of the agreement regarding the supply of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, a claim which Israel promptly denied. Upon hearing of these developments, President Trump said that if “all” of the hostages are not released by 12:00 Noon today, “all hell would break loose”. I would imagine that his understanding of “all hell breaking loose” is considerably less than a description of “hell breaking loose” in the 9th Chapter of the Book of the Revelation. Nevertheless, some members of the Israeli Knesset jumped on Trump’s statement and joined in the demand for the release of “all” of the hostages by the time stated by the President. But, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, after meeting with members of the Cabinet, said that if Hamas does not release hostages according to the terms of the deal, such a flagrant violation would result in a resumption of the fighting. In order to press the point, Israel amassed units of the IDF along the border of Gaza, signaling Israel’s seriousness to follow through with its threat. Note the difference in the threats: Trump demanded the release of “all of the hostages”; Netanyahu demanded the release of “hostages” as agreed in the deal. The difference is substantial.

After the release of the three male hostages last week and the shock of seeing them emaciated and paraded on stage before being turned over to the Red Cross,  there was a widespread outcry of the need to expedite the completion of the deal in its various stages and to get all of the hostages released. “There’s no time left!” “Bring them all home now!” Demonstrations took place several times during the week in places throughout Israel, where the above comments and more were yelled out over loudspeakers, with placards being raised high and Israeli flags waving. The largest demonstrations take place on Saturday evenings, like tonight, even as this is post is being written. All of them urge Israel to agree to “whatever is necessary” to keep the deal alive and to bring all of the hostages out, both the living and the dead. 

The crisis generated by Hamas over the alleged violations by Israel needs to be seen in its context. Claiming a “breach of contract” before its completion is a well-known negotiating tactic intended to put pressure on the “other side” to concede or agree to last-minute changes in the terms previously agreed to. And such was the case here. Hamas generated the crisis and demanded “compensation” from Israel for what it claimed were violations by Israel. The statements of Hamas were made early in the week. The timing of it was calculated to, give time for the negotiators to meet to try to resolve the unfounded crisis. The declaration of Hamas was designed to exert maximum pressure on Israel and to test its resolve to continue with the deal, which will eventually lead to the total cessation of fighting and the total withdrawal of Israel from the Gaza Strip. Hamas is aware of the internal pressure on the government being applied by the families and friends of the hostages, who are demanding the return of the hostages, no matter what price Israel has to pay for them. Even a prominent right-wing member of Knesset said this week that if his son would have been one of the hostages, he would behave just like the families of the hostages.

The accusations by both sides against the other and the threats by Trump and by Israel prompted immediate efforts by the negotiators to resolve the crisis. The crisis was resolved, with Hamas agreeing to release hostages as it had originally committed to do, but not “all” of the hostages, as demanded by President Trump. Notwithstanding Trump’s ultimatum, the White House has opted to let Israel make the decision regarding the “all or some” of the hostages and agreed to support whatever decision Israel makes in this regard.

According to reports of some of the hostages who were recently released as part of Stage One of the present deal, they were able to get cleaned up and were fed reasonably well in the days before their release, after some of them had been tortured and deprived of water and light for an extended period,  and/or who were kept in sub-human conditions and starved. Some had to drink contaminated groundwater and still have shrapnel in their bodies from October 7th and need surgery. The three hostages released today were washed, their hair was cut and their beards were trimmed. But, their substantial weight loss was evident. And injuries, not immediately visible during the Hamas “release show”, became visible after the hostages were brought to Sheba Hospital. They will be given the maximum treatment possible for their physical, mental and emotional rehabilitation and restoration. The show put on by the Hamas cowards, who covered their faces so as not to be identified as potential targets for Israeli retaliation, was intended to give the impression that the hostages were treated well and were released in good condition. The hostages were also given a “gift bag” and a “Certificate of Release” issued by Hamas. It’s all part of one big performance and a continuation of the lies and deception perpetrated by Hamas throughout the entire course of events from October 7th until now. 

But, that’s only one side of the story. For the return of three Israeli hostages, Israel agreed to the release of 369 prisoners in Israeli jails, 36 of whom were sentenced to multiple terms of life imprisonment for the murders of dozens of Israelis and the attempted murders of even more. The other 333 prisoners being released are Gazans who were arrested after October 7th, being the largest number of Gazans released so far under the present deal. Is this normal?

We haven’t learned the lesson of the mistake we made in 2011 when we released over a thousand terrorists for the return of one Israeli soldier. And among the prisoners released at that time was Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind behind the events of October 7th. How many Yahya Sinwars are being released as part of the present deal? An important question, but one that is unable to be answered at this point. We need to deal with what is. The agreement was made and the priority now for Israel is to get as many hostages returned as possible, at the very least the live hostages. From the outset, our obligation, expressed time and again, was that all of the hostages need to be returned. However, one of the failings of the present hostage-release agreement is that Israel doesn’t know who is still alive and knows only some of who are dead. We have no way of verifying, at least at the present time, information concerning the status of the other hostages. And yet, whatever the determining motivation was for signing the deal at this time, it is what it is for as long as it continues. Only the most steadfast of optimists would assert publicly that the entire deal to end the war will be accomplished.

Although it is of little consolation, the prisoners who were released wore sweatshirts with the Magen David (Jewish Star) on the back, and that had the words printed in Arabic: “We will not forget and we will not forgive.” Upon being released, they promptly burned the sweatshirts. The prisoners to be released were also shown videos of the devastation of Gaza that occurred as a result of the war. Whether such videos will deter any of the prisoners from continuing on their paths of hate and murder is questionable. One of the prisoners recently released already tried to kill Israelis yesterday with an axe. He was subdued and taken into custody. The hostages being released are thin and undernourished and some needed help to get up or down the steps leading to the Hamas stage. The prisoners being released from Israeli jails are well fed and the vast majority of them don’t need any help in being able to move around. 

Hamas celebrates the release of the prisoners and claims “victory”. Israel rejoices over the return of her sons and daughters. But, there is clear acknowledgement that the original goal of the Gaza War, namely, total victory over Hamas and “Palestinian” Islamic Jihad, has not been achieved and is still a future goal. 

Netanyahu thanked Trump for making it possible for the release of the hostages. Is that more political maneuvering? If Trump, who shoots from the hip and makes off-the-cuff statements, is the one responsible for the freeing of the hostages, then what role did Israel have in their release? For more than 16 months, we have fought in Gaza, Judea and Samaria (the West Bank [of the Jordan River]), Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and even Iran. More than 800 members of the IDF have been killed. Thousands have been wounded. Hamas and “Palestinian” Islamic Jihad, the two major terrorist organizations in Gaza, are still alive and flexing their muscles. Are we closer to peace with our neighbors today than we were on October 7th? The answer is clearly “no”. 

Hamas is weakened militarily, but is not defeated. It still holds 73 hostages and, notwithstanding threats by Trump and Netanyahu, in a realistic sense, it still controls how the game of war is being played out. Hamas has become a master at psychological warfare. Our nation waits in suspense and anxiety each week, not knowing if additional hostages will be released and waiting until the last minute to find out who will be returned. And for each hostage being returned, murderers of multitudes of Israeli are being released from Israeli prisons. Members of families whose loved ones were killed in terrorist attacks tried unsuccessfully to prevent the release of some of the terrorists sentenced to life in prison. Their sorrow and pain exists side by side with the joy of the families who are able to embrace their loved ones being returned by Hamas.

Add to this the continued push of Trump’s plan regarding Gaza amidst widespread opposition. The Houthis of Yemen are threatening that if the U.S. and Israel attempt to implement Trump’s plan for Gaza, they would “intervene militarily, using missiles and drones”, adding that if “Trump and the Americans want to take care of the Jews, let them transfer them to the United States.”

The last post of The Week That Was dealt with President Trump’s proposal to turn the Gaza Strip into “the Riviera of the Middle East”. I won’t rehash that here. But, it is important to mention a brief word regarding the proposed removal and resettlement of the people living in Gaza. Almost every proffered so-called “peace plan” to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict calls for the removal and resettlement of hundreds of thousands of Jews living in Judea and Samaria (commonly referred to as “the West Bank”). Yet, the same voices that advocate for the uprooting of Jews from their ancient land argue how wrong and immoral it is to propose the removal of Gazans in order to resolve the same conflict. This is not intended to suggest that Trump’s desire to take over ownership and control of the Gaza Strip is either workable or legal. In my opinion, it is neither. Nevertheless, I mention this here to make the point of the hypocrisy of applying double standards when it comes to Israel. Removal of Israelis from Judea and Samaria to allow the establishment of a “Palestinian” state will not end the conflict. From a wordly point of view, the Arab-Israeli conflict is about allowing so-called “Palestinian” refugees to be resettled in a land that never belonged to them, but one that they need to claim as an independent state. On the other hand, again from a worldly point of view, the removal of Gazans and their resettlement in neighboring countries having the same language and culture would remove the major issue of alleged “Palestinian refugees” and could help towards ending a seemingly endless conflict. What makes more sense? It seems as though the majority of the nations don’t think much, if at all, when Israel is involved in an issue. They jump to the conclusion that Israel is wrong or is to blame, whatever the issue might be. Reason has little affect upon those who are blinded by hatred or prejudice. All we can do is pray that the eyes of their understanding would be illumined.

One of the three hostages released today is a twin. His brother remains a hostage. One can only imagine the family’s joy over the release of one brother, and the anxiety of the whole family over the other brother remaining as a hostage. And there still is no news regarding Shiri Bibas, the wife of released hostage Yarden Bibas, nor of their two infant children. The joy of his release is mixed with the sorrow of returning without his family and the anxiety of not even knowing if they are alive. If Shiri and the children are still alive, they should have been released early on under the terms of the present hostage deal (women and children first). The failure to release them would be a blatant violation of the agreement. If, on the other hand, they are no longer alive, it could have a devastating affect upon the psyche of the nation and severely increase the national trauma of Israel that began on October 7, 2023. As of this writing, an entire nation, with no knowledge of their condition, holds its breath waiting for a sign of life.

It is already after sundown in Israel and we have begun a new week (“And there was evening and there was morning, one day” – Genesis 1:5). Israel still needs much wisdom and an outpouring of grace regarding the hostages, both those who have returned and those who need to be returned, as well as their families. We need prayer for the wounded, physically and emotionally and for those who treat and encourage them; for the IDF who risk their lives so that we can go on with ours; for the decision-makers in Israel that they would consider the guidance of the Scriptures, from which they can “receive instruction in wise behavior” (Proverbs 1:3).

“Do not let kindness and truth leave you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart. So you will find favor and good repute In the sight of God and man.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding.In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.

Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and turn away from evil.

It will be healing to your body And refreshment to your bones.” (Proverbs 3:3-8)

We live in a world that is enveloped in darkness, but thinks it is light. We can resist being caught up in it. Bless, be blessed and be a blessing. Wouldn’t it be great if others would do likewise?

Marvin