Have you noticed that the Trump administration has been on a roll lately with getting hostages returned? Marc Fogel, who has been detained in Russia since 2021, was returned to the United States this week, as was an American citizen held in Belarus. Six Americans detained in Venezuela were returned earlier this month. By the administration’s count, 11 American hostages have been released from captivity in the few short weeks Trump has been back in office.
That’s a pretty good record.
Donald Trump’s also making progress with getting hostages that have been held in captivity in Gaza freed. In a decisive show of determination, Trump warned Hamas that it would face dire consequences if they failed to adhere to the previously agreed-upon terms of the ceasefire. His strong rhetoric included a chilling promise to "let hell break out" if the hostages weren't freed on schedule. This aggressive stance seems to have gotten results, directly influencing Hamas to commit to the planned release of Israeli hostages — a significant development that raises questions about why the Biden administration didn't employ such assertive tactics earlier.
It’s hard not to forget how Joe Biden claimed he was working "around the clock" to secure the release of hostages in Gaza, yet progress was virtually nonexistent for over a year. The last hostage freed during his administration was Abigail Naftali, the great-niece of prominent Democratic donor Liz Hirsh Naftali, a known buyer of Hunter Biden's artwork. This isolated achievement starkly contrasts with the continued suffering of many American hostages still held captive.
The hostage situation in Gaza hardly seemed to put Biden out at all. In contrast, Trump's frustrations were palpable as he discussed the previous hostage release, likening the condition of the freed hostages to "old pictures of Holocaust survivors." His comments evoke a sense of urgency and moral outrage that I don’t doubt Americans are likely to resonate with but were sadly missing when Biden was in office.
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Seriously, what was Biden’s strategy regarding hostages that Hamas held? Biden was typically more beholden to the antisemitic wing of the Democratic Party and thus took a much harder line with Israel than Hamas.
Today, with Trump in the White House, Israel knows that the United States supports it and can do what it needs to in order to get results.
And Hamas knows it too.
“We’re talking about these Israeli hostages arriving back in Israel,” said David Mencer, a spokesperson for the Israeli government. “If that does not happen by Saturday, noon, the ceasefire will end and the IDF will resume intense military operations until Hamas is fully defeated.”
Earlier, Hamas said it would release hostages according to a schedule outlined in the ceasefire agreement, a reversal of its previous warning that it would indefinitely postpone hostage-prisoner swaps over Israeli violations of the truce.
Senior Hamas official Bassem Naim told NBC News on Thursday that there were “positive signs of an agreement” after a Hamas-led delegation held talks with Egyptian and Qatari mediators in Cairo on Wednesday.
The hard-won truce looked close to collapse earlier this week after Hamas accused Israel of shooting at civilians, blocking the delivery of humanitarian aid and inhibiting Palestinians’ passage into northern Gaza.
Trump's recent threats against the terrorist organization show how his strength and resolve are far more effective than Biden's pandering strategy.
