The terms of the deal are not clear yet, but from the reports I’ve read, they agreed to get off their high horse and remove their demand for a total IDF withdrawal from Gaza.
If that is true and Hamas agreed to something they previously rejected, that means one thing: The military pressure is too much for them and Sinwar realizes that the IDF is closing in on him. (He’s right!)
Hezbollah has said that they would also hold their fire once this deal goes into effect, which means, that’s right, you guessed it, the military pressure is getting to them too, and Nasrallah knows that the IDF is closing in on him too.
Again, I don’t know the details of the deal but if it involves getting the hostages back for a temporary ceasefire, I would definitely support that deal.
Yes, I realize that even a short ceasefire means that Hamas will regroup and rearm themselves. I agree that in an ideal world, Israel should not let up even for a day, let alone a few weeks or more. But this is not an ideal world and we need to get those hostages back.
So if the deal is we get the hostages back and we hold our fire temporarily, I hope we take it.
But if the deal involves Israel giving up on its objective to destroy Hamas completely and remove the threat from its borders, even if we get the hostages back, as hard as it is to say, I don’t think Israel should take that deal.
It’s really simple logic.
If we end the war to get the hostages back, assuming they are even still alive, it would be a national celebration and just seeing the smile on the faces of their families would be an incredible sight. But then what? Then Hamas repeats 10/7 over and over, takes new hostages, and we are back to square one?
Israel needs to remove the threat of Hamas completely and at all costs. This is an existential threat and it needs to be removed. Period.
This is all speculation of course because we don’t know the details yet but those are my thoughts.
If we get the hostages back and we can continue to destroy Hamas and remove the threat from our borders at a later time, I say we go for it.
If we get the hostages back but only if we end the war, I say that would be a terrible strategic move.
Thoughts?
But among all that speculation, one thing is for sure: Both Hamas and Hezbollah are scared.
As they should be!
