Hostages Released – What is Next?

Hamas has released all 20 living hostages in its custody. The release of the 13 remaining hostages comes just hours after Hamas freed seven other hostages who have already crossed the border into Israel. The ICRC’s teams took the hostages from Hamas’ custody and handed them over to the Israeli authorities. (During 2 years the ICRC has not visited any hostages, and all anti-Semitic international NGOs and the ‘Ugly Nazi’ were silent.)

The Hostage and Missing Families Forum expressed outrage as only four of the 28 deceased hostages are to be returned on Monday.

“This is a blatant violation of the agreement by Hamas,” the forum said. “We expect the Israeli government and the mediators to act immediately to correct this terrible injustice. We will not give up on any hostage, and the mediators must enforce the terms of the agreement and exact a price from the terrorist organization Hamas for the violation.”

Israel has begun releasing nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners from its detention facilities after all living hostages were freed, despite Hamas still failing to return the bodies of 28 deceased captives.

Among those released Monday are 250 convicted terrorists serving life sentences for murdering Israelis – 135 of those convicts will be deported to third countries, while 101 are expected to return to Palestinian Authority-controlled municipalities in Judea and Samaria.

In addition, some 1,718 Gazans detained in Israel since October 7 are being freed from Ketziot Prison in the southern Negev and bussed back to the Gaza Strip.

We have to celebrate today. But the war is not over. You cannot destroy an ideology with bombs only.

Food for Thought: by Steven Shamrak

Any concessions made in the past by Israel have not changed the fact that the enemies of Israel want to destroy the Jewish state. Only a strong Israel, led by a self-respectful government, will be able to have lasting and true peace with its Arab neighbours, not a fake peace – like after the previous agreements with Egypt and Jordan. Israel must complete the job, and decisively ‘neutralise’ Hamas terrorists in Gaza and remove all Hamas supporting ‘innocent’ Gazans from the Jewish land.

Deadly Clashes in Gaza

At least 27 people have been killed in clashes between two armed groups in Gaza days after Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire deal. Hamas, the dominant Palestinian group in the besieged territory, fought with the Dughmush clan in the Sabra neighbourhood. A 28-year-old journalist-influencer, who had gained prominence for his videos covering the war, was shot and killed while covering the fighting, Al Jazeera reported. (Nobody cares!)

Netanyahu not going to Gaza Peace Summit

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declined an invitation to attend a high-profile international summit on the future of the Gaza Strip, which is set to begin in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. The invitation to the Israeli leader came only hours before the event was scheduled to begin. Neither Israel nor Hamas were originally invited to attend the conference, though Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas confirmed his participation in the summit.

Hamas already Began to Regroup

Even before the hostages release, Hamas has reinstated around 7,000 members of its security forces in an effort to re-establish its rule in the Gaza Strip. Hamas has appointed five new governors for Gaza’s districts. The appointees all have military backgrounds, and some previously commanded brigades within the terror group’s armed wing.

Quote of the Week:

“I believed that peace is something that we can achieve. But after I saw the magnitude of hatred that they grew up upon and they are raising their children upon, it’s really clear that at least in our generation it won’t be possible.” – Tal Shoham, 40, was kidnapped from Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7, 2023, along with his wife, two children, and mother-in-law. His father-in-law was murdered by invading terrorists.

Farce of Post-war Gaza Plan

by Giorgia Valente

After two years of war and stop-start pauses, the administration of President Donald Trump in late September 2025 recirculated a 21-point post-war plan for Gaza aimed at pairing a rapid ceasefire and hostage-prisoner exchanges with the first verified IDF pullback and an international stabilization force.

NOTE: Trump’s 20-point plan outlines a potential pathway to a future Palestinian state, something Netanyahu firmly and repeatedly rejects. “Giving the Palestinians a state one mile from Jerusalem after October 7 is like giving Al-Qaeda a state one mile from New York City after September 11,” Netanyahu said during his UN speech. “This is sheer madness. It’s insane, and we won’t do it.”

He has also consistently rejected the Palestinian Authority having any role in governing post-war Gaza, while Trump sees a possibility of a reformed PA helping run the Strip.

Read previous Editorials here.