The Biden administration has adopted the Hamas policy of demanding a Gaza ceasefire without the release of hostages. In what would be "a few days” according to the White House or up to a week according to Hamas, Israel would halt its battle to bring down the Hamas regime without a guarantee of the release of even one hostage. 

During the temporary ceasefire, Hamas would merely commit to negotiate a permanent truce and the possible release of hostages, without even informing Israel which hostages remain alive.

We attacked! Now give us a ceasefire

Hamas has been demanding a ceasefire since Israel repelled their October 7th invasion, in which they killed over 1,200 Israelis, including hundreds at a musical festival, many after brutal gang rapes, and wounded hundreds more. Some have noted that a ceasefire already was in place, on October 6th:

Hamas was not alone in demanding a ceasefire even before Israel struck back. In a tweet on the very day of the massacre, American Marxists, in a show of solidarity with the Marxist PLO and their Hamas colleagues in their “good cop/bad cop” manipulation, announced a protest against any Israeli response to the attacks while Hamas was still butchering women and children. The rally took place the next day. 

Ceasefire to release hostages

On November 24th, Israel agreed to Hamas requests for a ceasefire, holding fire for a weeklong truce conditioned on the release of at least ten Israeli hostages by 7 p.m. each day. Israel released three terrorists from prison for each freed Israeli, even for Israeli Arabs who were taken hostage by Hamas during the massacre. 

81 Israelis and 24 foreigners were released during the temporary ceasefire. With the rescue of other hostages and the confirmation of the deaths of over 30 Israelis still in Hamas' hands, there remain less than 100 live hostages, including Thai and Bedouin hostages, held in Gaza.

Ceasefire to negotiate a ceasefire

During talks aimed at reaching a new ceasefire agreement, Hamas has refused to begin releasing hostages as a truce goes into effect, claiming “it would first need a halt to the fighting to be able to establish which captives were still alive.”

[A Hamas official] added that the hostages “are in different areas with different groups and therefore we have called for a ceasefire to be able to collect the data.”

Initially, the Biden administration rejected the notion of a ceasefire in order to negotiate a ceasefire:

Hamas has said it doesn’t know where all the hostages are, but the US has dismissed the claim, saying the list was “very much a legitimate request” from Israel.

Now, however, the White House has reversed itself, pressuring Israel to halt its efforts to bring down the Hamas regime, and possibly free hostages by force, for “a few days,” as reported by the Wall Street Journal: 

U.S. and Arab negotiators proposed a short pause in fighting in the Gaza Strip to buy time for a longer cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, as talks appeared stuck with time running out for a deal before a Ramadan deadline.

Tuesday’s push for a shorter cease-fire—even lasting a few days—could prove to both sides that the other is serious about a longer deal, negotiators said . . .

Mediators are hoping to convince Israel to agree to a humanitarian pause that would allow for an increase in the flow of aid, as food and supplies in Gaza . . .

The hostages can wait?

The Times of Israel has reported that hostages weren't just raped on the day of the invasion. The rapes continue:

Sex crimes official also says there’s ‘clear evidence’ hostages faced and continue to face sexual assault in Gaza, says Oct. 7 victims suffered ‘torture and other horrors’ . . .

The 24-page report, based on more than two weeks of meetings on the ground, states that there are “reasonable grounds” to believe that Hamas committed rape and sexual abuse during its murderous rampage on October 7, and that there is an even higher standard of evidence to indicate that hostages kidnapped by Hamas that day were subject to rape in captivity . . .

Pramila Patten, the UN special representative on sexual violence in conflict, said that there was “clear and convincing information that sexual violence including rape, sexualized torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment” was committed against hostages being held in captivity in the Strip by Hamas.

In addition, she said, there are “reasonable grounds” to believe that such violence is still ongoing against those hostages still in captivity in Gaza.

“The mission was a difficult one in terms of what we heard and the details,” said Patten at the press conference. “We saw a catalog of the most extreme and inhumane forms of torture and other horrors,” she said . . . [emphases added.]

Trust Biden to protect the women?

The idea of allowing Biden to determine the next steps for Israel, as the nation decides how best to free its hostages, including many females, from continued assault, may not sit well with those familiar with the rape accusation Tara Reade made against him, particularly in terms of corroborating evidence that came to light from a thirty-year-old edition of the Larry King Show:

An 27-year-old court filing also backed Reade's claims:

Hamas' Arab hostages

Notably, a ceasefire endangers not only Jewish hostages, but also Bedouin hostages and foreign workers from Thailand still being held by Hamas—and also Gazan civilians, who have suffered severe human rights abuses under the totalitarian Hamas regime: 

While regular civilians in Gaza are not allowed to leave the war zone created in response to the Hamas invasion, the family members of Hamas leaders are able to do so:

Gazan civilians unable to evacuate to Egypt, but families of Hamas officials can . . 

Escapees include nephews and nieces of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, and according to the list obtained by N12, the children of Sinwar's sister were smuggled through the Rafah crossing only recently.

Trust Bibi to protect the hostages?

Biden has publicly pressured Israel since shortly after the Hamas invasion, with each concession leading to demands for greater concessions, from demanding that Israel allow water, then food, then fuel to enter Gaza despite the seizure of the delivery trucks by Hamas; demanding that Israel use smaller bombs, despite it allowing some Hamas members to escape targeted strikes, and demanding that Israel limit attacks on Hamas terrorists who are not actively shooting; and demanding that Israel delay the takeover of the remaining Hamas-controlled areas of Gaza.

Among Israel's citizens, the question remains: Is Israel's prime minister an Israel-First politician who is attempting to dodge the pressure, or is he akin to Washington's RINOs, using pressure to justify Israel-Last policies? While many may assume Benjamin Netanyahu hopes for a pressure-free Trump administration if the war carries into next year, one past incident with Trump may indicate otherwise. 

An effort by Netanyahu to garner more funds for the PLO subsidiary Palestinian Authority (which has a multi-million dollar “pay to slay” scheme, compensating terrorists and their families, while promising to destroy Israel in phases) failed when he was turned down by President Trump, as reported by the Jerusalem Post:

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu requested that Washington allow the transfer of $12 million to Palestinian security forces, but  President Donald Trump denied the request, Channel 13 reported.

“If it’s so important for Netanyahu, he should pay the Palestinians $12 million,” senior White House officials told Channel 13, quoting the president.

Will Biden continue increase the pressure, just as Jimmy Carter did when he forced the Shah of Iran to turn over his country to Ayatollah Khomeini? Will Netanyahu agree to Biden's demands at the risk of losing the next election? Will Netanyahu agree to conditions only slightly less perilous and manage to emerge as having stood up to Biden? Or will Netanyahu break with years of support for Hamas and the PLO and lead Israel to full victory in Gaza? 

Check back for our continuing coverage of Hamas and Israel as we look at the Israeli officials behind the intelligence failures of October 7th, their role in bringing Hamas to power, and the way in which they are managing the war.

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