THE world waited to see who would be the first three hostages Hamas released to Israel. Would they be alive, or already dead? Would they include the baby Kfir Bibas, whose second birthday was on Saturday, the day before the start of phase one of the ceasefire agreement and hostage/prisoner exchange?
Hamas are playing despicable and cruel mind games with the population of Israel in general, and the families of the hostages in particular – in how they release those poor abused souls who are still living, and the cold bodies of those they have murdered. And as the next six weeks of prolonged, drawn-out releases continue, the greater that psychological torture will be for the families still awaiting the release of their loved ones. It is expected that the living will be released first. My guess is that the Bibas family will be among the last, if not the last, hostages to be handed over.
The first hostages released were Emily Damari, Doron Steinbrecher and Romi Gonen, three young women who have spent a year and three months suffering in the dank, dark, suffocating terror tunnels beneath Gaza. Abused and assaulted, not knowing what their fate would be, clinging to life. Emily is British, yet the British government were barely interested in her plight as they were too concerned about appeasing the Muslim vote in the UK rather than being seen to support a Jew above the cause of the ‘Palestinian resistance’.
Hamas made a spectacle of the release. Heavily armed terrorists in full Hamas uniform kept the handover under control for the cameras while Palestinian civilians crowded in, shouting abuse and spitting at the young hostages.
After the six long weeks of phase one have elapsed, will there still be a ceasefire and further hostage releases possible, or will Hamas have violated the agreement forced on both Israel and Hamas by Donald Trump, eager to make a big impact on day one of his second presidency? Can a second phase be negotiated at all? There is much more work to be done before all hostages are released, and a permanent ceasefire attained.
The next phase of negotiations will take place during this phase one hostage release, where in exchange for 33 hostages of unknown status (dead or alive), Israel is to release nearly 2,000 terrorists and detainees, including more than 700 prisoners who between them are responsible for the murders of around 2,500 Israeli men, women and children.
In the meantime, rest assured that Hamas will keep pushing the boundaries of the current phase one agreement, flexing their propaganda muscles to keep their worldwide fan base enthused by their ‘resistance’. Just 12 hours before the ceasefire was supposed to begin, Hamas broke the terms of the agreement by not naming the first three hostages to be released. They did eventually give the names, well after the cut-off time, and after Benjamin Netanyahu halted the start of the agreement in response.
There are celebrations in Gaza and elsewhere, proclaiming this agreement as a victory for Hamas, and as a signal that murder and hostage-taking works and will be repeated. This deal is a pact with the Devil; any deal with Islamic terrorists is such. It encourages further terror, putting innocent people at risk worldwide – because this Islamic ‘struggle’ is for world domination, for a global Caliphate and the imposition of Islam and Sharia on every living soul.
This agreement may be a tick in the Israel/Gaza box for Trump, and terror-appeasing political pygmies such as Starmer and Lammy, but it is definitely a problem for the rest of the world. When the post-ceasefire Islamist problems start again, the world will tell Israel to stop whingeing – you got your hostages back – and continue to pressure Israel to make further concessions to the blood-soaked monster that is fundamental Islam and its murder machine.
Unless Trump green-lights and supports a total destruction of Hamas, when it becomes clear they are rebuilding their terror infrastructure, or simply to destroy any meaningful presence they have in Gaza, this ceasefire will be a huge boost to the Islamists’ cause and encourage them to increase their efforts everywhere.
And that includes the UK, where Islamic sectarianism has grown in power and influence, and has put four fundamental Islamic MPs into the heart of our democracy. Don’t expect things to get any better while the West kowtows to Islam and its demands, and continues to welcome hundreds of thousands of migrants from Islamic countries, many bringing with them a culture that makes it acceptable, and attractive, to use white children as sexual slaves, and enforce Sharia law in their communities which refuse to integrate with or accept British law, culture and social standards. What’s good for Israel is good for us. What’s bad for Israel is bad for us.
