As Gaza Deal Resumes, Israelis Hoping Trump Will Push a Faster Pace of Hostage Release

Even as Israelis brace for Saturday’s release of three Hamas hostages, including one American man, they are increasingly trusting in President Trump, hoping for a quickened pace of release as the conditions of captives held in Gaza deteriorate. The Israeli men who were kidnapped by Hamas from kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, 2023, are scheduled for release on Saturday. All three are dual citizens: Alexander Sasha Troufanov is Russian, Iair Horn is Argentinian, and Sagui Dekel Chen is American. “I trust your strength and leadership, Mr. President,” a Chapel Hill, North Carolina, native who was released from Gaza dungeons two weeks ago, Keith Siegel, said in a video message posted on X. His thankful plea reflects a trend in Israel: Even as many consider Mr. Trump an erratic and unpredictable leader, they increasingly support the spirit of his Mideast policies. “Israelis want what’s good for Israel,” the country’s top pollster, Rafi Smith, tells the Sun. A poll that his Smith Research firm conducted recently found that 60 percent of Israeli Jews support Mr. Trump’s idea to remove Gazans out of the Strip in favor of the construction of a Mideast “Riviera” — even as they consider that plan unrealistic. Another group, 29 percent, supports the plan and also believes it to be realistic. “Almost no one was against it,” Mr. Smith said.Secretary Rubio, who is scheduled to arrive in the region Saturday, said that if Arabs have a better plan, “that’s great” — as long as Hamas cannot remain in Gaza. Reaction to Mr. Trump’s plan across the Arab world, though, did not mirror the Israeli public’s support.Even as Mideast refugees flood Europe, a large group of United Nations ambassadors from Arab and Muslim countries expressed indignation Friday over suggestions that Gazans could be encouraged to emigrate. Who says that Gazans “who want to” would be blocked from leaving the Strip? Kuwait’s UN ambassador, Tariq al-Banai, told the Sun: “They don’t want to live anywhere else.”Following a 1990 Iraqi invasion and amid Palestinian support for Saddam Hussein, Kuwait expelled nearly 400,000 Palestinians who lived in the country. No Arab country currently is publicly expressing willingness to take in refugees from Gaza. Gazans “want to go back to the places where they were born, where they have memories, where they have stories, where they have connection between them and the land, it is in our DNA,” the Palestinian Authority’s UN ambassador, Riyad Mansoiur, told the Sun. Despite the Strip’s complete ruin, he noted, many Gazans recently returned to its northern portion by foot from temporary shelters in the south. That population movement was made possible by the deal that was launched on January 19: The Israel Defense Force removed its troops from the Netzarim Corridor, which cuts Gaza in half, to facilitate the return of civilians to the ruins of their northern homes. Once the IDF completed its withdrawal according to the agreement, Hamas announced Monday that it would indefinitely suspend a scheduled Saturday release of three hostages. Mr. Trump, who has already expressed outrage over the gaunt appearances of three emaciated hostages last week, threatened to end the plan altogether.“If all the Gaza hostages aren’t returned by Saturday at 12 PM, I would say cancel the ceasefire,” the president said Tuesday. “Let all hell break loose.” He noted, though, that the decision is in the hands of the Israeli leadership. While Hamas is now merely resuming the original deal, Mr. Trump’s call to end the release of hostages in “drips and drabs” is gaining Israeli support. During Mr. Siegel’s 484 days in captivity, until his February 5 release, “every single day felt like it could be my last,” he said in his X video. “President Trump. You are the reason I am home alive.”In Gaza, he added, “I lived in constant fear, fear for my life and for my personal safety. I was starved and I was tortured, both physically and emotionally.” So, “I trust your strength and leadership, Mr. President. The helpless hostages in the dark, cold tunnels in Gaza, also trust you.”Mr. Rubio is expected to launch on Saturday a three-day tour of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Israel. Mr. Trump wants to end the “drip-drip” release of hostages, including Americans, Mr. Rubio told a News Nation host, Chris Cuomo, on Tuesday. “We can’t have Hamas deciding what parts of the deal they’re going to live up to and what parts they’re not.”Mr. Trump’s attempt to change the deal’s agonizing terms is yet to materialize. His threats, though, are forcing Hamas to resume to the original schedule of hostage releases. Losing patience, Israelis are hoping that the president’s words will create a new dynamic, and the 73 remaining hostages, living and dead, will soon be home.

As Gaza Deal Resumes, Israelis Hoping Trump Will Push a Faster Pace of Hostage Release

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