After over five years held as prisoner by Hamas, Israel Defense Force soldier Gilad Shalit reunites with his father. (Photo by Ori Shifrin / IDF Spokesperson’s Unit)One thing is clear: Israel has defeated, destroyed, demolished Hamas in every way but one: Hamas still has the hostages.
Hamas says it has agreed to parts of the Gaza peace proposal outlined by President Trump
By Joe Walsh / Updated on: October 3, 2025 / 8:17 PM EDT / CBS News
Hamas said in a statement Friday it has agreed to parts of the ceasefire deal that President Trump outlined earlier this week, including a demand to release all hostages — but the group suggested other portions of the deal should be subject to negotiation.
A U.S. official told CBS News the United States views Hamas’ response as positive, though there are details that still need to be hammered out, such as the decommissioning of weapons, which may begin as soon as next week.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to the deal on Monday. Earlier Friday, Mr. Trump gave Hamas until Sunday evening to accept the deal, or “all HELL, like no one has ever seen before, will break out against Hamas.”
After Hamas released its statement, Mr. Trump said on Truth Social that he believes the group is “ready for a lasting PEACE.” He pushed Israel to cease hostilities in the Gaza Strip.
“Israel must immediately stop the bombing of Gaza, so that we can get the Hostages out safely and quickly! Right now, it’s far too dangerous to do that. We are already in discussions on details to be worked out,” the president wrote.
There’s more at the original.
Of course, Hamas is dithering on other points, wanting to retain at least some governing control over Gaza, and will be complaining about complete disarmament.
But let’s tell the truth here: Hamas has proven once again that seizing innocent hostages is a smart military move. President Reagan allowed covert negotiations with Iran over American hostages seized in Lebanon by Hezbollah, and Iran got some American weapons out of the deal. The hostages were released, Iran got what it wanted . . . and then Hezbollah seized more innocents, as their value had been proven. Israel released 1,027 ‘Palestinian’ terrorists in exchange for just one Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, and among those 1,027 was Yahya Sinwar, one of the masterminds and commanders of the October massacres.
If Hamas had not seized those 251 hostages, Israel’s response to the massacre could have been far, far more destructive and lethal.
It’s a hard-hearted thing to say, but we have to stop giving hostages value. They must simply be counted among the casualties in war, or more and more hostages will be seized in the future.
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