Going Backwards

Right now if Hamas continues to slow roll returning hostage bodies and then wants to drag out disarming we are at a point where Israel is really dealing with life on October 6th, 2023. We read more on that from a post on the Telegram channel of Israel Today:

MK Moshe Saada (Likud) on Hamas violations of the ceasefire:

"My son is in Khan Yunis and tells me, 'Dad, you don't know what's happening here, they are constantly crossing the yellow line' - the State of Israel made a mistake and has always chosen to tolerate, it tolerates the violations instead of exacting a heavy price. The government should have subdued the enemy and not returned to October 6th."

There is mounting concern in Israel that the Trump administration is pursuing a similar policy to its predecessors by tying Israel's hands in the belief that it knows best how to achieve "peace" in the region.

And this is insanity especially as Hamas is once again entrenching itself in Gaza after being on the very edge of defeat. They are allowed to assassinate the opposition by US President Trump and they are kneecapping anyone who dares want them to be sent packing. In a report from The Times Of Israel we’re told about yet another instance of Hamas crossing said yellow line:

Following reports in the morning of an airstrike in Gaza, the IDF says it carried out a strike in the southern Gaza Strip earlier today against a group of Palestinian terror operatives who crossed the Yellow Line demarcating the military’s pullback in the Gaza Strip.

This isn’t a new thing with Hamas. This is exactly what they do during all such “ceasefires” so unless Trump lets the IDF go full bore on Hamas it will only extend the war rather than end it. And this isn’t a hit and run tactic, either:

According to the military, the operatives were digging in the ground and approaching Israeli forces in the Khan Younis area, which is under IDF control as part of the ceasefire.

The operatives “posed an immediate threat” to the troops, and upon being identified, they were targeted in a strike, the IDF says.

The operatives “posed an immediate threat” to the troops, and upon being identified, they were targeted in a strike, the IDF says.

They’re Taking Their Time

We’re informed from a post another Telegram channel, this one from Israel Real Time that the 48 hour Trump deadline is almost up without said bodies being turned over:

Meanwhile, President Trump’s 48-hour deadline for Hamas to return the bodies of deceased hostages, including two Americans, is nearing its end. “Hamas is going to have to start returning the bodies of the deceased hostages, including two Americans, quickly, or the other countries involved in this GREAT PEACE will take action,” Trump posted Saturday night.

Trump went on to say this:

“Some of the bodies are hard to reach, but others they can return now and, for some reason, they are not. Let’s see what they do over the next 48 hours. I am watching this very closely.”

And Israel, whose intelligence is top notch know that the terrorists are holding out intentionally:

As the deadline approaches, 13 hostages’ bodies remain in Gaza. Israeli intelligence believes Hamas knows the location of nine of them but is deliberately delaying their return. Third-party teams—including Egyptian engineers and the Red Cross—are assisting with searches inside the Gaza Strip, efforts Israel approved despite believing they serve mainly as a show for mediators. According to Israeli sources, the government allowed coordination “to avoid giving Hamas excuses and to ensure every effort to locate the bodies has been exhausted.”

I have said from the start of this peace plan that Hamas could have provided the bodies of the hostages on day one along with the living hostages. Israel is most likely under great pressure from the Trump administration to give Hamas room no doubt because of all the concessions the US President had to make to get the deal done. However, at some point Israel has to decide if they want to rid themselves of the terrorist threats all around them on their own or let the slow drip of diplomacy play out yet again. History shows us that this never works just as the Oslo Accords fell apart after all the hype about them. Hamas is like the leopard that can’t change its spots. They are who they are and won’t change especially when they appear to agree to a deal. I like Trump, but unless he and Netanyahu are playing a game of bait and switch here, we’re right back where we were on October 6th or 2023 and maybe worse. I know from Bible prophecy that Israel is going to have end this war on their own. I pray it is sooner than ever.