There’s real concern on the Israeli side of the current ceasefire that Hamas is getting stronger. But that’s to be expected – and Israel has a plan that for now involves getting home as many hostages as possible.
Hamas, while murdering more than 1,200 Israeli citizens, took more than 250 hostages during its Oct. 7, 2023, attack. The ceasefire became official on Jan. 15 with Israel agreeing to give up 50 imprisoned Hamas terrorists for every one Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) soldier released and three terrorists for every one Israeli civilian released.
“There’s tremendous concern about what’s happening, but it’s the nature of the beast,” Caroline Glick, a contributing editor with the Jewish News Syndicate, said on Washington Watch Monday. “Hamas is a genocidal terrorist organization. We’ve killed a lot of their terrorists, but they’re hiring new recruits.”
About that humanitarian aid
Hamas is also controlling the humanitarian aid coming into Gaza – 600 trucks worth they’ve demanded – and selling the goods to restore their diminished bank accounts, Glick told show host Tony Perkins.
“It’s all under Hamas control, so they can sell it all. It’s just money in their pockets so they can hire new recruits – and they’re really the only hiring game in town since Gaza is just a smoldering pile of rubble,” she said.
Hamas agreed to release 33 hostages during this first phase of the ceasefire, but until the weekend when four female IDF soldiers were released (pictured above), had been unclear about how many hostages have died.
Amid the Hamas release of the soldiers, news also broke that eight of the remaining 26 hostages scheduled for release in this first phase of the ceasefire are dead, The Times of Israel reported.
Some of the families of hostages slated for release have been told there are “grave concerns” for the lives of their loved ones, The Times added.
Before the IDF soldiers were released they were used by Hamas as a marketing tool, paraded on a makeshift stage before Hamas supporters and gun-waving terrorists.
“They built up this fake stage where they were declaring victory over the Zionists," Glick explained. "They put the girls in fake uniforms and paraded them in front of men carrying automatic weapons and whooping. They made them play roles. They were told they had to smile and put their hands up, things like that.”
If Phase 1 continues, negotiations will resume with the goal of releasing remaining hostages and facilitate the rebuilding of Gaza.
Public support for ceasefire
For now, a majority of the Israeli public supports the ceasefire.
Last June 60% of Israelis supported the idea of a deal with Hamas. Joel Rosenberg, a noted journalist and regional analyst, said on American Family Radio last week that number had increased. But the number is not unanimous.
“The fight against Hamas is not over. We're winning, but we're going to have to pause here to get our people home, and it comes at a price. It’s a price that 73% of us are willing to pay,” he told show host Jenna Ellis.
Hamas, the first phase far from complete, is in violation of the ceasefire agreement in many different ways, Glick said, in being late with the names of hostages to be released, not releasing certain hostages they’d committed to release and by exploiting hostages upon release.
Israel, meanwhile, remains quiet with eyes on the next phase of the war, said Glick. “Israel prefers to get back the hostages for now. We’re obviously tabulating all the breaches, and we’re waiting because the whole point of this is to get back as many lives as possible. It’s not to make peace with Hamas.”
Many of the prisoners being released now were part of a wave of violence led by the Palestine Liberation Organization under Yasser Arafat in the early 2000s, Glick recalled. In what seemed like daily occurrences, Israelis were attacked in cafes, universities, buses or their homes.
“They launched jihad against Israel. Everywhere you turned there was another suicide bombing,” Glick described.
Upon release, these prisoners weren’t paraded on stage before Israelis but were cheered upon their return in villages in Judea, Samaria and Gaza, she said.
“Hopefully we’ll find them, and we’ll just kill them all afterwards because these are mass murderers, some of the worst murderers,” Glick said.
The give and take of peace
Israel is doing all it can to achieve peace over a longer period of time against an enemy that has vowed to destroy it. While Hamas adds new recruits, it is – for now – a shell of the organization that carried out the attacks a year and a half ago.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s commitment to eradicate Hamas, the relentless pursuit of the IDF, and superior Israeli intelligence has led to the deaths of terrorist commanders as well as the rank and file in Hamas and also Lebanon-based Hezbollah, like Hamas, an Iran-funded organization.
“They’re hiring new terrorists to join their ranks, but that's not the same as having those sorts of veteran well-trained people who came in and invaded Israel on Oct. 7,” Glick said.
But there’s a fine line to walk. How long can Israel allow Hamas to rest, heal and rebuild?
"We have to get as many hostages back as we can without endangering the victory in this war. The Prime Minister has made a calculated risk, and he believes that we're going to be able to accomplish the goal of annihilating Hamas and preventing Gaza from ever posing a threat to Israel in the future – and also get this deal done and get the 33 home,” Glick stated.
