Late in the evening of October 8 2025, President Trump announced a mutual signing of a peace treaty by both Israel and Hamas.

I am very proud to announce that Israel and Hamas have both signed off on the first Phase of our Peace Plan. This means that ALL of the Hostages will be released very soon, and Israel will withdraw their Troops to an agreed upon line as the first steps toward a Strong, Durable, and Everlasting Peace. All Parties will be treated fairly! This is a GREAT Day for the Arab and Muslim World, Israel, all surrounding Nations, and the United States of America, and we thank the mediators from Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey, who worked with us to make this Historic and Unprecedented Event happen. BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS!

DONALD J. TRUMP
PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (Truth Social)

Two years after a horrendous invasion by the terrorist group, Hamas has agreed to release the living hostages within 72 hours.  The bodies of deceased hostages are to be sent back at a future date.   Israel on its part is to release a number of prisoners, including 250 Palestinians sentenced to death. (Fox News)

On the forefront, the US President has reached a massive deal.  With 48 hostages still in captivity – 21 who might still be alive – coming to this agreement will achieve the number one goal of the United States of bringing them home.  While there was never any doubt as to Israel’s eventual total military victory over Hamas, this peace plan provided a quicker way to save those taken as  prisoner without the further loss of life.  It is a check in the winning column that President Trump should gladly take.

Yet, the release of the hostages is just phase one of a twenty-point plan.  Although not simple, it is probably the easiest part of the proposal which is essentially a prisoner exchange.  According to the Christian Science Monitor, there is still a lot to be worked out:

Yet as significant and heartening for the people of Israel and of Gaza as the phase one agreement certainly is, it is still not an accord on the full 20-point peace plan Mr. Trump laid out late last month.

Yet to be tackled are the thorny issues of Hamas’ disarmament – without which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netnyahu has said the assault on Gaza will not end – and Gaza’s postwar governance.

The inherent problem, though, is Hamas does not want peace with Israel.  In fact, they want the complete opposite – the entire annihilation of the Jewish state and all her people.  The original charter of Hamas in Palestine is clear:

Hamas’ original charter makes it clear that the war against Israel and the Jews is an existential battle. Palestine is sacred Muslim land, making any compromise or recognition of the Jewish state impossible. The only possible solution to the Palestinian problem is uncompromising jihad and struggle until Israel is annihilated.  (Cambridge University Press)

Although the original charter was “softened”, Hamas does not recognize Israel as a state and will continue to be a force of resistance and upheaval in the area:

AMAS emerged in 1987 during the first Palestinian uprising, or intifada, as an outgrowth of the Muslim Brotherhood. HAMAS has been the de facto governing body in the Gaza Strip since 2007, when it ousted the Palestinian Authority. Although HAMAS amended its charter in 2017 to remove a call for Israel’s destruction, it does not recognize Israel as a state and continues to advocate all forms of resistance against the country. The group benefits from Iranian support, such as monetary donations.  (National Counter Terrorism Guide)

Therein lies the problem.  Hamas and her allies in Iran and elsewhere are not political freedom fighters just trying to make their way in the world.  They are not the underdogs in a fight against Goliath.  They are terrorists, who will go to any length to impose their will in the Middle East. 

Lest we forget what actually happened on October 7, 2023:

The terrorists split up, conquering and taking control of over 20 Israeli towns. Terrorists also attacked the Nova Music Festival near the town of Re’im. Their goal was to murder as many Jews as possible. During that day, over 1,200 Israelis were tortured, mutilated and massacred, including women, children and the elderly, and over 200 were abducted back to Gaza.Footnote77 Comparatively, the October 7th attack was the most deadly in Israel’s history and the third most lethal attack in modern history

Hamas’ murderous attack was also accompanied by sexual violence and rape. According to a report issued by the Association of Rape Crisis Centres in Israel, systematic sexual assaults took place at the site of the Nova Festival, kibbutzim and villages, IDF army bases and against hostages held in captivity. Many of these assaults were carried out by multiple perpetrators and in front of family members. Women at the festival who tried to escape were hunted down and then assaulted. The report also notes evidence of tying and binding, as well as the mutilation of the sexual organs of girls, women and men. (Cambridge University Press)

An initial poll done by Hamas reported over 70% of Palestinians  supported the October 7 attacks against Israel.  Later it was found Hamas inflated those polls to bring the overall support down to 31%.  It still means 1 in 3 Palestinians supported the murder, rape, abuse and hostage taking of Israelis – simply because they were Israeli.

That is indeed not a trustworthy people.

The fact of the matter is Hamas is the embodiment of evil.  Any organization that plans and condones such heinous actions has no claims to any moral high ground.  They are not freedom fighters.  They are not the oppressed standing up and giving “voice to power.”  Hamas and its allies in Iran are committed to the destruction of any state – and any person – who disagrees with their particular worldview.  How then can we trust an agreement made with such a group who view others with such contempt and as mere future casualties in an ongoing jihad against the West?

Hamas could have ended this war a long time ago.  Instead, they have been preposterously bolstered up by an international intersectional chorus of “fellow victims” who believe the idea that Palestine must be free of the evil oppressors of Zion.  Hamas could have disarmed and turned themselves in and be tried as war criminals.  They could have released the hostages.  They could have stopped the rocket attacks.  They could have stopped stealing the humanitarian relief that has poured in from around the world.  They could have stopped killing other children and stopped hiding behind their own.

They have done none of those things.

We need to be prepared that this agreement is a breather for Hamas and nothing more.   They are a people dedicated to evil ends – and who will countenance any number of evil means to get there.  Such an organization would not hesitate to mouth the words of peace while preparing for their next assault.  The olive branch they wave is merely the concealment of a bloody sword they are all too willing to use. 

Hamas probably agreed to this first phase to get a break from the relentless attacks by the Israelis.   Over the last two years it has been decimated in terms of weapons, fighters, and leadership. 

Though the number of Hamas fighters may be debated, one thing is clear: Israel has killed most of the group's senior leadership, with only one senior commander left from its pre-October 7 military council. (DW)

What must then be the next move when (not if) Hamas breaks this deal?  The answer is nothing short of the complete destruction of these terrorists and the unqualified surrender of Gaza.  Nazi Germany was made free of the destruction of war only after they surrendered.  Japan avoided total destruction only after surrendering under the mushroom clouds of nuclear obliteration.  The world knew then what it does not apparently know now: evil must be destroyed, or it will continue to bring death and destruction to those around it.  When (again – not if) Hamas walks away from this peace plan, they must face complete and total destruction by the West.  Hamas must not be given the chance to negotiate for a peace.

They must beg for it.