Ceasefire

"last hurrah" by those darn Houthis

By the time this gets sent out tomorrow morning, please Gd, 33 people will be safely back in Israel.

Hopefully included in this group is Oded Lifshitz, who I have been davening for for many months.

And Omer Shem Tov. I heard his mother speak a few months back. Omer has asthma and celiac disease and is likely included in this first group (which is women, children, the elderly and those very sick) due to not receiving proper food or medication for the last 15 months....

For those of you unfamiliar with Israel's history of hostage negotiations: In 2011, Israel released over 1200 prisoners for soldier Gilad Shalit, who had been held hostage in Gaza for five years. The prisoners exchanged included Yahya Sinwar, who was in prison in Israel for murder and, while there, had his life saved (SAVED) by Israel when he had brain surgery while in the prison system. Sinwar became the mastermind behind the attacks of October 7. All I can say is that sometimes it really stinks being the only democracy in the Middle East. ("fun" article: "He saved the life of Hamas’s leader. Then they murdered his nephew")

So we've danced this dance before and the outcome has been REALLY BAD. 

Even many people who support the deal have serious misgivings.  Tal Haimi was a hostage later murdered by Hamas while in captivity (his wife gave birth to their fourth child while he was held hostage.....). Tal's cousin Udi Goren, supports the agreement but had this to say:  “Do I like it? No. They’re insane jihadist murderous terrorists. Is there another way? No, there isn’t. And this is how negotiations work. You need to give something in order to get something. And because we are, at the end of the day, a Western democracy that values human lives, we will give whatever is needed in return to get our people back.”

But, of course, the more we trade unequal numbers of people (not to mention that Hamas will not actually say how many LIVE hostages they're giving back), the more incentive terrorist groups have in the future to keep kidnapping....It's a horrible loop....

Praying that every hostage returned tomorrow is alive and is able, somehow, to be able to rebuild a life that is happy and healthy in every way