Former President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social on Monday: “Israel will find, very sadly, that there are far fewer hostages than currently being thought. That’s why it’s hard for Hamas to make a deal – they are no longer able to produce the people because many of them are gone. Hamas is incapable of holding Jewish people for a long period of time without killing them, and it will only get worse!”
Trump continues, in mostly caps: “ZERO leadership from Biden. October 7th WOULD NEVER HAVE HAPPENED IF I WERE PRESIDENT – NOT EVEN A SMALL CHANCE!!! DJT”
The Wall Street Journal reported on April 11 (Hamas May Not Have Enough Living Hostages for Cease-Fire Deal), citing officials familiar with the negotiations, that “Fears are rising over the fate of the remaining hostages held in Gaza after Hamas said it was unsure whether it could bring forth 40 Israeli civilian captives as part of a US-backed cease-fire proposal.”
The WSJ cited a Hamas official who said that the terrorists wouldn’t commit to releasing 40 living hostages, but could commit to releasing 40 hostages in total, all of whom may or may not be alive.
And yet, this open admission by Hamas that they had killed or allowed to die most of the hostages, has not changed the tone of the protests in Israel, and, undoubtedly, when in the end it would turn out that the vast majority of hostages are dead, the fingers would be pointing at Netanyahu. This is despite repeated statements on the part of US officials that Hamas is the only one responsible for the delays in reaching a deal.
On October 12, 2023, less than a week following the Hamas atrocities, both Israel and the White House condemned Donald Trump’s praise of Hezbollah, calling it “very smart,” and his criticism of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who was “not prepared” for the Hamas attack.
Israeli Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi said it was “shameful that a man like that, a former US president, abets propaganda and disseminates things that wound the spirit of Israel’s fighters and its citizens.”
White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates called Trump’s comments “dangerous and unhinged,” adding, “It’s completely lost on us why any American would ever praise an Iran-backed terrorist organization as ‘smart.'”
But six months later, Trump appears to have been right on both Hezbollah and Hamas and as to his charge that none of this would have happened if he were president – President Trump devastated Iran’s economy with harsh sanctions, which President Biden removed. And since Iran is the octopus maneuvering Hamas, Hezbollah, and half a dozen more proxy militias, it could certainly be argued that without the $10 billion or so it received under Biden, Iran may not have been able to inflict this much harm on the region.
The precise count of surviving hostages was a pivotal concern in the ceasefire negotiations. Plans put forth by the US and Arab nations involve Israel’s potential release of Hamas and Islamic Jihad murderers in exchange for various categories of Israeli captives, such as civilians, female soldiers, male soldiers, and the remains of deceased hostages. Uncertainty regarding the tally of living hostages and their identities has the potential to hinder Israel’s cooperation should Hamas finally approve a deal.
