Sunday saw the return of the first of the October 7 hostages who were promised to be released under the new ceasefire agreement. It was a time for joy and celebration, which was felt through all the cities and towns of Israel. However, it was a muted rejoicing for a couple of reasons. First, there are dozens more who are still being held captive by the Gazan terrorists. Second, we havenโt forgotten what started this whole horror. There is no gratitude felt toward Hamas for giving us back what rightly belongs to our nation. There is no recognition of mercy, no outpouring of thanksgiving. If someone steals my car, should I be thankful when they return it, dented and chipped? How much less so when weโre talking about the theft of people?
Yesterday on the Anchor Podcast, I spoke with Rafaela Treistman, a young survivor of the October 7 Nova festival. Her experience sheltering in a bunker while 30 of the 40 people around her were slaughtered is one that must be heard. It serves as the balance to the happiness of the returned hostages. It represents the tainted soil from which all ceasefire emotions must grow. It is reality. And it must be heard, because too many people are forgetting the depth of the murderous depravity that Hamas meted out on innocents that infamous fall morning.
What youโll see in Rafaelaโs story is a woman who was deeply wounded by what she experienced and who she lost. But she was not broken. Her tale is an Israeli tale; one thatโs been told over and over from early in our peopleโs existence. You may try to take us out, but you will only succeed in knocking us down. We will get up back up wiser and stronger. And when we do, itโs best you run and hide, because Israel never forgets.
The Hostage Release and the Ceasefire
There were tears in the eyes of most Israelis on Sunday as we watched the return of three of our daughters. Four-hundred-and-seventy-one days ago, Romi Gonen (24) was shot and kidnapped from the Nova festival, Doron Steinbrecher (31) was snatched away from her home in Kfar Aza, and Emily Damari (28) was also stolen from her home in Kfar Aza, having two of her fingers blown off by a terrorist bullet in the process. Let that number sink in โ 471 days. Picture where you were back in October 2023 and what all has happened since then. For these women, and for all the hostages, life was put on hold as they were transferred from one location to another by people who hated their very existence. Two of them spent time stashed away under guard in an apartment and another was hidden deep in the tunnels. Now begins their journey of healing, which will likely be a life-long process.
In return for our three hostages, Israel transferred 90 Palestinian prisoners. Make sure you recognize the two differing descriptors. In return for our three stolen innocent civilians, we released 90 criminals. Those are the kinds of bargains you are forced to swallow once you begin making deals with terrorists. This Saturday, four more hostages will be turned over, along with the full list on Friday of the 33 names who will be part of the first phase of returns. Over the course of this ceasefire and hostage exchange, this twisted math will continue until freedom reaches nearly 1900 Palestinian criminals in return for just 33 of our kidnapping victims. Yes, we rejoice in the homecoming of our people, but we are appalled at the price that we are forced to pay.
As far as the ceasefire, it has begun and the IDF is slowly pulling out. However, there are few who expect Hamas to be able to control themselves over the six weeks of this first phase. If and when Hamas breaks the treaty, they will experience the full and final wrath of the IDF. President Donald Trump has promised that the United States will support whatever measures Israel takes, one hundred percent.
End of a Military Era
Tuesday saw the Chief of the General Staff of the IDF, Herzi Halevi, announce his intention to step down from his position as of March 6. In doing so, he also took responsibility for the militaryโs failures on October 7. Soon after, IDF Southern Command Chief Maj.Gen. Yaron Finkelman tendered his resignation for the same reasons. These resignations were necessary and are a good thing, and the two men were correct in taking the blame. We are in an era of changing our government โelitesโ back to those with more conservative values. While the IDF field commanders are great, the top brass in Tel Aviv consists of progressive, liberal activists who seem unable to even comprehend what total victory in Gaza would look like. Thus, they have been pushing for an end to this unfinished war from the beginning, buoyed by their American handlers under the Biden administration. Once Trump was sworn in, however, these men saw that their foundation had collapsed under them. Now itโs time to rebuild with men who truly know how to fight to victory.
Operation Iron Wall
On the same day that Halevi and Finkelman announced their resignations, the IDF, Shin Bet, and the Border Police launched a large-scale military operation into Jenin. Operation Iron Wall is a significant action with the goal of eradicating terrorism in the area. Already, a large shipment of arms was intercepted that was on its way to Jenin via Jordan. This all part of the strategy to strengthen security in Judea and Samaria.
The need for greater security was demonstrated that same day in Tel Aviv when a Moroccan national with a U.S. residency card wounded four Israelis in a knife attack before being shot dead. Three days earlier in the same city, a man in his 30s was seriously wounded in another knife attack. That assailant was also put down.
Thereโs a New Sheriff in Town
With the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 47th president of the United States, the world has entered a new era. It is the apogee of the conservative groundswell that has been rising in many parts of the world. The left had its day, but they pushed too far. Now we are seeing a bounce-back by people who are fed up with the lack of reason, common sense, and true science in the foundations of liberal ideology. The contrast between conservatism and liberalism could not have been more stark as folks watched all the economic and cultural progress made in Trumpโs first four years being devoured in the screeching extremism of the succeeding four. The countryโs choice was played out on the big screen as the world watched Biden and Harris forced to confront their failures as they sat in the front row while Trump gave his very direct acceptance speech. Even as an Israeli outsider looking in, I can tell you that it was beautiful.
Donald Trump got right to work. It would be impossible for me to list all the executive orders that he has already signed, so Iโll highlight just a few. The armaments that Biden embargoed have been released to Israel. The International Criminal Court is being sanctioned by the U.S. Trump has repealed an order that sanctioned certain Israeli settlers in the West Bank. Visa holders who support hateful ideologies and terrorism, or who pose national security threats will be deported. He has instituted a 90-day pause on U.S. foreign developmental assistance programs to review their alignment with his administrationโs policies. This includes UNRWA. And he signed an order returning the Ansar Allah organization of the Houthi movement in Yemen to the list of foreign terrorist organizations. This promises to be a fascinating four years.
Saudi Arabia to Invest Bigly into the United States
One of the many calls President Trump has had with foreign leaders since taking office was with the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammad bin Salman. It is hard to forget the contrasting receptions received by President Trump and President Biden. Trump had the red carpet rolled out to him surrounded by all the pomp and circumstance one could imagine. Biden, not so much. On this renewed acquaintance with MBS, Trump discussed the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran, as well as the hostage deal between Israel and Hamas. The president then indicated that he would only travel to Saudi Arabia if that country increased their purchases of American goods. Soon after the call, the crown prince announced his nationโs plans to invest $600 billion into the United States. Thatโs the art of the deal!
Palestinian Terrorism Promises to Come Back
An official for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), Maher Al-Taher, has admitted defeat, but he said itโs only temporary. Weโve lost this battle, he claimed, but not the war. He said that the conflict is historic and open-ended. It is this mindset that Israel is up against and is the very reason that Hamas and any other Palestinian terror organization must wholly cease to exist.
The New Syria Gives Russia the Boot
Speaking of ceasing to exist, that is the intention the new Syrian regime has for Russia โ at least within their borders. As evidence, Ahmad al-Sharaaโs Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) government is canceling Syriaโs lease agreement with Russia for the port of Tartus on the Mediterranean Sea. This agreement was to remain in effect until 2068. This is not going to make Vladimir Putin a happy camper, and it will be interesting to see his response.
The HTS government is entering a very tenuous phase of its young life. Everywhere there are terrorist militias, including ISIS and al-Qaeda. Now the Druze are demonstrating in a new suburb outside of Damascus. If that is left untended, al-Sharaa could soon find himself on a collision course with the Druze in the south of his country and the Kurds in the north.
Hezbollah โ Still Holding On
The rumors of Hezbollahโs demise are greatly exaggerated. Even with a new โcompromiseโ president in office and a multitude of major military defeats by the IDF, the terror group is still holding up. A good portion of their lifeline remains attached to Iran, which, according to Sky News Arabic, is using foreign airlines to transfer funds to Hezbollah in Lebanon.
They are also encouraged by the fact that Israel is receiving pressure from the United States to finish its withdrawal by Sunday, despite numerous Hezbollah violations. What good is an agreement if only one side needs to hold to it? But not all is smooth for the Islamist militia. On Tuesday, gunfire from two cars brought down a Hezbollah official, Sheikh Mohammad Hamadi, in the town of Mashghara. Many Lebanese are fed up with the terrorists, and it appears some of them are beginning to show their ire.
