Living hostages released – but the war is far from over
Finally, after two harrowing years, on Monday this week twenty living Israeli hostages were released from the hell of Gaza. They had been held in captivity under horrific conditions since the invasion of Israel by Hamas on 7th October 2023.
Tragically, many hostages did not survive the ordeal. Under the 20-point peace agreement, Hamas agreed to return the bodies of all the remaining twenty-eight deceased hostages. So far it has only returned nine bodies.
Israel said Thursday it would increase pressure on Hamas to return the remaining bodies of deceased hostages, with a task force reportedly already having entered Gaza for that purpose.
The release of the hostages was the result of the remarkable peace agreement brokered by President Trump and his team, and endorsed by a number of Arab and European states. On 13th October, Trump posed with the leaders of over thirty five nations as they gathered in Egypt in support of the peace plan. This included Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
Whether the agreement will lead to peace is highly questionable. The deal requires Hamas to demilitarise and to make way for an alternative government. Many commentators point to the fact that Hamas has no intention of handing over its weapons, but is using the ceasefire to regroup. Indeed, rather than giving up their weapons, the past days have shown that Hamas has launched a brutal campaign to reassert its control over the parts of the Strip it holds, including the heart of Gaza City. This has included ruthless suppression of dissent, leading to intense firefights with armed Gazan clans, and a wave of executions. Yaakov Lappin at JNS writes:
“The terror group’s actions signal an explicit rejection of the deal’s demilitarization clauses and the notion of a future governance arrangement that is free of Hamas influence.”
Palestinian prisoners released from Israeli prisons as part of a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas arrive in Khan Yunis | Photo: Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90
Gregg Roman at Middle East Forum (MEF) writes:
“The partial destruction of Hamas’s military infrastructure has created what should be a unique opportunity for fundamental governance restructuring. However, as the American brokered ceasefire demonstrates, Hamas has survived as an organizational entity despite military degradation, retaining approximately 10-15 percent of its rocket arsenal, maintaining its external leadership in Doha, and preserving its military command structure under Izz al-Din al-Haddad. The organization’s recruitment of 15,000 new fighters during the war, according to U.S. intelligence assessments, means it enters this transition period with renewed human resources eager to demonstrate commitment to the cause.”
Moreover, the involvement of Turkey and Qatar is problematic. As Israeli Arab journalist Khaled Abu Toameh notes:
“It is laughable — and dangerous — to assume that under their current rulers, Qatar and Turkey, as well as Iran, would ever play a positive and constructive role in ensuring peace and stability in the Middle East. These three regimes have always been on the side of the Muslim Brotherhood organization and several Islamist terror groups, including Islamic State (ISIS), Al-Qaeda, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and Hezbollah.”
This week, we want to give thanks to the Lord for the return of the 20 living hostages. Pray for healing and recovery now that they have returned to their families.
Pray that the bodies of the remaining hostages will be found and released so they can have a dignified funeral. Pray for the families of the hostages and of all those who have died in this conflict.
Let us pray that the people of Gaza will be freed from the culture of death that they are living under. Pray for the coming of the Prince of Peace, who alone can bring true shalom.
Phase 2 Challenges in Gaza will test the limits of international law
Alessandro Spinillo and Andrew Tucker: The release this week of the remaining twenty Israeli living hostages, following the acceptance of President Trump’s 20-point Peace Plan for Gaza, marks a pivotal moment in the region’s long and painful trajectory. Hopefully, it will also mark the end of decades of misuse of the United Nations system to undermine Israel through the one-sided application of international law.
Trump threatens to ‘kill’ Hamas if Gaza executions continue
“If Hamas continues to kill people in Gaza, which was not the deal, we will have no choice but to go in and kill them,” the president wrote.
> Read more..
Israel receives bodies of hostages Inbar Haiman, Muhammad el-Atrash; Hamas says it has no others
19 slain hostages yet to be returned; Hamas claims it can’t find them; Trump says Hamas is looking; his advisers vow none will be ‘left behind’; Israel threatens to resume war if terror group doesn’t comply with deal.
> Read more..
‘We are witnessing a type of civil war in Gaza’
As IDF troops hold to ceasefire lines, the terror group has launched a murderous campaign to eliminate internal rivals. The terror group’s actions signal an explicit rejection of the deal’s demilitarization clauses and the notion of a future governance arrangement that is free of Hamas influence.
> Read more..
Qatar and Turkey Want to Rebuild Hamas, Not Reconstruct Gaza
Khaled Abu Toameh: Inviting Qatar and Turkey to play a role in the Gaza Strip means again bringing Iran in through the back door. Both countries have strong relations and shared interests with Iran.
> Read more..
Gaza’s Clan Architecture: The Only Alternative to Hamas’s Resurgence
Gregg Roman, MEF: The October 2023 Hamas Attack on Israel Exposed a Fundamental Truth: Hamas’s Control Masked but Never Eliminated Deeper Tribal Loyalties.
> Read more..
The Ghost of Gaza: How Hamas Survived
Gregg Roman at MEF: On October 10, 2025, at 1:20 AM, a ceasefire took effect in Gaza ending two years of conflict that began with Hamas’s October 7 massacre. Israel’s cabinet, facing unprecedented pressure from President Donald Trump and internal political crisis, approved a framework that represents everything warned against in previous strategic analyses: negotiating with terrorists from a position of incomplete victory, releasing hardened militants in exchange for hostages, and accepting ambiguous promises of future demilitarization in place of present military defeat. What comes next?
> Read more..
‘Son of Hamas’ WARNS: What Everyone’s Missing About Trump’s Gaza Deal
In this special bonus episode of The Erin Molan Show, Erin sits down with Mosab Hassan Yousef — better known as “The Son of Hamas” and “The Green Prince” — for one of the most powerful and chilling interviews yet. The son of a Hamas co-founder, Mosab risked his life to expose the terror organization from within, later becoming a source for Israeli intelligence and authoring the international bestseller Son of Hamas. Now, in the wake of President Trump’s historic Gaza Peace Plan and the release of the hostages, Mosab sounds the alarm on what the world is NOT seeing. He warns that while people are rightfully celebrating peace and progress, a deeper and more dangerous truth may be hiding beneath the headlines.
SCRIPTURE FOR THE WEEK:
Psalm 25:1-6
In you, LORD my God, I put my trust.
2 I trust in you; do not let me be put to shame, nor let my enemies triumph over me.
3 No one who hopes in you will ever be put to shame, but shame will come on those who are treacherous without cause.
4 Show me your ways, LORD, teach me your paths.
5 Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.
6 Remember, LORD, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old.
