Tel-Chai Nation

Donald Trump made a vital point that the Hamas must surrender and disarm:

US President Donald Trump addressed the next phases of the Gaza peace plan, which began with a ceasefire and the return of all of the living hostages who remained in captivity yesterday.

Speaking to the media today (Tuesday), President Trump stated that "they will disarm because they said they are going to disarm. And if they don't disarm, we will disarm them."

"They know I'm not playing games," he added of Hamas.

Addressing the release of the hostages, he stated: "We did something monumental - we got the hostages back. That was the first thing we had to do, above all else, get the hostages back. They misrepresented, because we were told that they had 26-24 of dead hostages, if we can use those terms. It seems they don't have that, because we're talking about a much lesser number. That's a very tough subject. I want them back."

Even the bodies of dead victims must be returned. Last time I looked, only 4 had been. That's going to have to be the next serious step taken.

Update: here's also an important article where one of the hostages recalls how he was tortured by the jihadists when he was in their clutches:

Avi Ohana, the father of Yosef Haim Ohana, who was released from Hamas captivity, shared his emotions with the Moreshet channel, following his son’s return and spoke about the spiritual strength that sustained the family throughout the past two years.

“I am walking on cloud nine, in the sky,” he said emotionally. “For two years I could not sleep because of the pain, and now I cannot sleep because of the joy. This miracle is something beyond nature. As the days go by, I realize how much greater it is. The verse from Psalms is being fulfilled: ‘Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me.’”

According to Ohana, after the signing of the latest deal, his son was transferred - together with about seven other hostages - to a deep, narrow pit, where they were held under extremely harsh conditions.

“They couldn’t sit, only stand and lean against the wall. There was no oxygen. A person could die just from that alone, God forbid. It was literally, ‘And Joseph was brought down to Egypt’ - Joseph in the pit,” he said.

“The miracle was tremendous,” he added. “He told me many things we didn’t know. After the deal was signed, we thought they were probably being taken out of the tunnels and organized for release. I asked him, ‘Was it really like that?’ He said, ‘Dad, after the deal was signed, they put me with six other guys and took us down the stairs - down, down, down. We thought we were going to another tunnel.’ But they ended up in a pit so small that seven men could barely stand, unable to sit, leaning against the wall. The lack of oxygen alone could have killed them.”

Ohana emphasized that what kept his son alive was faith and the thought of family. “Only one thing - family. The thought of dad, mom, brothers, friends. That’s what gave him strength.”

He's definitely lucky to have survived. And if his captors could be wiped out, they'll deserve to be sent to hell for what they did to him, period.

Update 2: here's Donald Trump's speech to the Knesset following the release of the last hostages.

Labels: anti-americanism, anti-semitism, communications, islam, Israel, jihad, military, misogyny, racism, sexual violence, terrorism, United States, war on terror, White House