As much as the enormous achievements of Operation “Midnight Hammer” are being hailed, President Trump finds it hard to believe that Iran can resume its nuclear program. It is clear that he is aiming for an agreement with Iran, in contrast to Israel’s position.
The next phase is not military but cognitive. Jerusalem defines the reality before Doha and Ankara rewrite it in Hamas’s language. If they are allowed to sit at the table, the pause will become a defeat; if they are excluded, a new order can emerge: clear victory, sovereignty without intermediaries, and deterrence that endures.
The start of the ceasefire in Gaza marks a shift in Israel’s national agenda. Developments in Iran’s nuclear program and the continued threats from the Houthis are posing major challenges for the security establishment. Still, there are signs of hope on the diplomatic front.
The Nobel Peace Prize committee will find it hard to ignore Donald Trump's accomplishments, with his acumen overshadowing even the legendary Henry Kissinger in his level of sophistication and originality.
These moments will belong first and foremost to the hostages who return and their families, but also to every Israeli who worked for their return, and to the American team that made this possible.
Erdoğan has already announced that the Turkish army will be part of the international force that will deploy in Gaza after the IDF withdrawal and that Turkey will play a role in rehabilitating the Strip.
When the home trembles, when doubt is cast upon it, its residents rush to rescue it. "Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken," wrote Ecclesiastes.
Officials in Jerusalem described the second day of talks in Egypt as marked by “cautious optimism.” Once again, they are confident that images of hostages returning to their families will overshadow the national debate over the heavy price Israeli society will pay – including the troubling message it sends about the revolving doors of Israel’s prison system and the cost of future abductions.
A deal with Hamas may be a necessary evil, but anyone who agrees to release 250 mass murderers – who left behind trails of blood and bereavement, and will almost certainly kill again – has no right to speak of “total victory.” This is not a triumph. It is being blackmailed by terrorists and surrendering to their demands, even if the goal is a worthy one.
The international community cannot lose its nerve now. For the first time since October 7, the balance of power has shifted in the right direction, not through appeasement or empty rhetoric, but through unified, unwavering pressure on Hamas to lay down its weapons or face the consequences.
