Hostages Now - Gaza Later

3 hostages - after captivity and before (VIN)

One of the things I learned from experts about the nature of torture is that even in its most extreme form, people can often withstand it in order not to betray a cause they believe in. However, when they are relieved of the torture for a period and then it is suddenly reapplied, they often break.

It appears that the Hamas-supporting Palestinian refugees in Gaza may soon be subject to that very outcome. An outcome that President Trump all but promised them if Hamas does not release all the hostages by noon on Shabbos. That promise came after Trump saw the condition of the latest Jewish hostages released by Hamas. They looked like they had just been liberated from Auschwitz. As reported by VIN:

The London-based Daily Mail has revealed shocking new details about the brutal torture inflicted by Hamas on the hostages who were released on Saturday after nearly 500 days of captivity. The terrorists tortured them mercilessly, keeping them in such inhumane conditions that they had to relearn how to walk before their release.

The captors hung them by their legs, tied them up with ropes, gagged them, and pressed burning objects against their bodies. The hostages were deliberately starved, confined in tiny tunnel chambers where they could neither move nor stand, and struggled to breathe. After days without food or water, they were given rotten pita bread, which they were forced to share with other hostages.

"They treated us like animals," said one of the released captives.

None of this is surprising coming from a group that committed the atrocities of October 7th. But it is still shocking to see what these hostages looked like and to hear what they endured.

Now, Hamas has threatened to stop releasing hostages altogether, claiming that Israel has not lived up to its end of the ceasefire agreement.

The president has had enough. He gave Hamas an ultimatum. Release all the hostages at once (by Shabbos). No more drips and drabs. No more one or two hostages at a time over a prolonged period. Not after what he witnessed. If they do not comply, then the hell he promised before the election will begin.

When asked by a reporter what that would entail, he answered, ‘You’ll find out.  And so will they.’

I have no clue what that might be. But I can speculate. The Israeli prime minister has ordered the IDF to prepare to resume fighting in Gaza. The Palestinians, who have had a couple of weeks of respite from nearly 500 days of suffering they endured because of what their beloved Hamas leadership did to the Jewish people on that October day, will now see that suffering return. Only this time, with the full blessing of the leader of the free world—our Commander-in-Chief, the President of the United States. And Israel will have the formerly withheld 2,000-lb bombs to do it with.

I don’t know if this is the ‘hell’ Trump was referring to. But it’s as good a guess as any.

What about the increased number of ‘innocent’ Palestinian civilians who will surely be killed? Hamas will love that as a great propaganda tool. And many Palestinians have, in any case, declared that they prefer dying in Palestine rather than living anywhere else. I think Israel can accommodate them with the official blessing of the United States!

The world will scream? Leftist progressives will go apoplectic? Who cares! We finally have a president who truly cares about the Jewish people and the state of Israel unequivocally.

Anyone trying to argue otherwise will surely have a hard time explaining this latest development. I could not be more pleased with the commitment that President Trump has made. 

Now, about the other big shift in U.S. policy concerning the Arab world:

The president isn’t really concerned about what Arab nations think about his plan to develop Gaza into the Riviera of the Middle East. He sees prime real estate; he wants to own it and develop it. His proposal to transfer all Gaza refugees out of the hellhole that is Gaza into Jordan and Egypt, two of Israel’s neighboring countries, was rejected by all involved.

As noted, Palestinians would rather live in squalor in Palestine (of which Gaza is a part) than in luxury in either of those two countries. And both Egypt and Jordan have turned down the president’s request, citing security concerns.

I wonder what they mean by that? (Not really. We all know what their beloved leadership is capable of.)

Trump has threatened to cut off all U.S. foreign aid to those countries. Aid that is substantial. Will they risk it? Or will they comply? Depends on how badly they want that aid to continue, I suppose.

What about the aforementioned security concerns? I’m sure both the kingdom of Jordan and the Egyptian dictatorship have their own ways of dealing with that.

All that being said, I can’t predict the future and don’t know how any of this will unfold.

My hope is that Trump’s threat will bring those hostages home by Shabbos. Maybe the Gaza refugees don’t want Torture 2.0 after finally experiencing relief from Torture 1.0. Maybe Hamas will somehow realize that this is a no-win situation and won’t fight to the death for nothing.

I surely prefer that to Israel reinvading Gaza, Even if they do so mostly by air and more ferociously than before.

As for Gaza turning into a playground for the wealthy? That is certainly preferable to a nation filled with people who believe massacring Jews is the best way to serve God.

Will it happen? Again - who knows. One thing seems certain, though: Whatever the future holds for the people of Gaza, it cannot involve Hamas or any other jihadist group. Even the antisemitic leaders of Europe seem to acknowledge that.

But more importantly, as far as the U.S. is concerned, that is a non-negotiable condition for any future political structure in Gaza.

Which is why I have been saying ever since Trump 1.0 that despite all of his many serious flaws (which I have discussed many times) Trump has been the greatest friend of Israel and the Jewish people in U.S. history. And now, that is more evident than ever.