Is This the Moment?
Hostage deal seems to be real
I am watching the evening news in Israel as I write this. For the first time since October 7, 2023, I find myself shedding tears. We are nowhere near done. And, frankly, never will be. Because we cannot undo anything that has transpired since October 7. But if we do free our hostages in Hamas captivity, it can be the start of a way forward. It does not begin to resolve Israel’s security issues. But it will allow us to begin to rehabilitate our national soul. I am going to keep this brief because I will let my op-ed column, published moments ago in the National Post, speak for me for now. I’ll have much more to say very soon. Over the last 15 months I have met with and interviewed many hostage family members. I am thinking only of them and their loved ones now. Please. Let this be real.
Vivian Bercovici: Thanks to Trump's threats, Hamas finally releasing hostages
Incoming American president is feared in the Middle East
Today, we wait.
At 3:02 a.m. on Tuesday, the Houthis shot missiles at civilian targets in central Israel and the Jerusalem area. They were successfully intercepted. Just one home, it seems, was damaged by rocket debris that slammed into the roof.
The sun came up.
As you read these words, rooms full of men are hammering out the final details of an agreement in Doha, Qatar for Hamas to release 98 hostages brutally kidnapped from Israel. They have been held in the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023. This time, it may be real.
The parameters of this deal are unchanged from what has been on the table since last July. So, why now?
A key factor is the threats of American President-elect Donald Trump that there will be “all hell to pay” if the hostages are not released by Jan. 20. In the Middle East, Trump is feared. That translates into respect. Which begets power. Everyone in the Middle East fears Trump. Even Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
As well, the leaders of Hezbollah and Hamas have been assassinated. Their movements and military capabilities have been decimated. Syrian despot Bashar al-Assad has been toppled. The Iranian promoted “axis of terror” stretching uninterrupted from Tehran to the Mediterranean is broken.
You make a good point. Trump's 'all hell to pay' is generally interpreted to be directed at Hamas/Iran, but the more I think about it, the more you realize that it was equally, if not more so, directed at Bibi.