Remaining Sober About Peace In Gaza

Around 65% of the Israelis wanted the prioritization of the return of hostages over full destruction of Hamas

Around 65% of the Israelis wanted the prioritization of the return of hostages over full destruction of Hamas, and Gazans wanted an end to the war. Despite the massive celebrations throughout Israel and Gaza, CFR also noted that “other crucial steps remain to be finalized, including the disarmament of Hamas fighters, the insertion of an international stabilizing force to Gaza, and the establishment of new structures for a Palestinian state not including Hamas.” It is critical Americans and Israelis remain sober about the future in dealing with Hamas.

As I write this article on Sunday, October 12, we are awaiting the live Israeli hostages. The bodies of the remaining twenty-eight hostages should be returned within days. In return, Hamas is receiving the windfall of almost two thousand mostly criminal terrorists and around four hundred remains. A key issue is that Hamas never agreed to give up all weapons. Additionally, the question of what happens with members of Hamas remains. Trump’s plan is for Hamas to give up all power in the future governance of Gaza, though Hamas wants input into the future leadership. After what Hamas did on October 7, 2023 and since, the massacre of 1,200 Israelis and attempting to hide behind Gazan civilians bringing destruction to much of Gaza, Hamas must leave Gaza for the plan to work.

With celebration, we must remain sober (and skeptical) about the future of this deal in working with Hamas. Despite the importance of disarmament to the plan, the Hamas spokesman was definitive in saying “disarmament is off the table.” It’s critical to keep in mind that Hamas built hundreds of miles of tunnels, including secret tunnels, which stymies any attempt to verify disarmament. Qatar continues to fund and harbor Hamas leadership, and yet Qatar and other similar Arab nations are to help conduct the peacekeeping in Gaza. Hamas Patrols remain active as Israel departs. Dr. Az al-Din Shihab, on Facebook from Gaza, wrote that Hamas leaders appeared on TV and declared “Gaza stood firm and fought a historic war.” In response, Shihab wrote for many Gazans “We were victims of the destruction that Hamas began from within our own homes (Oct 7, 2023 massacre) and then the Israeli Army unleashed its full force upon us while Hamas operatives vanished into their tunnels.” (Facebook)

Hamas showed they are willing to endanger as many Gazans as is necessary to their “cause”

Hamas showed they are willing to endanger as many Gazans as is necessary to their “cause”, and then lie about “winning” the war.

Mosab Hassan Yousef, the son of the co-founder of Hamas and a convert from Islam to Christianity, spoke of the peace deal and passionately warned about remaining skeptical and sober about Hamas and the future. Yousef claimed Hamas would declare victory (even before Dr. Shihab’s post), and that the 1,700 Hamas terrorists being released would reconstitute a substantial threat to peace. Yousef believes Hamas will remain in power and, in the long term, would continue with their ideology of conquering the Capital of the Jewish state, Jerusalem. Hamas would continue seeking to cleanse Israel of all Jews. According to Yousef’s nuggets of wisdom “It’s Better to wake up now and face reality before it comes and slaps us right on the face” and “Every child in Gaza now learns that kidnapping works” and “You cannot make peace with an ideology that does not believe in peace.”

“They have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there was no peace.” Jeremiah 6:14

My call to sobriety over the peace deal is not to diminish the work of the Trump Administration in putting it together. Assuming the 20 Israeli hostages and 28 Israeli remains are released, this will be a historic diplomatic coup. Clearly the people in Gaza and Israel are beyond overjoyed about it. Trump has done far more than the Biden administration, and this peace deal is due to Trump’s perceived strength as President. My warning is that we must be prepared for a recalcitrant Hamas, which we are already witnessing in the refusal to disarm and in declaring victory. Gregg Roman warned in The Ghost of Gaza we are “rewarding endurance as victory”, and we cannot allow Hamas to maintain their warped ideology to pervade a future Gaza. (Middle East Forum, Oct.10, 2025)

Israel will likely have to go back in and finish the job. Hamas must leave Gaza for good if this plan is to have any hope of working.

The prophet Jeremiah warned of becoming intoxicated with promises of peace and not maintaining sobriety:

“They have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there was no peace.” Jeremiah 6:14.

We know that after this warning the Babylonians conquered and exiled Israel. In the apparent healed wound of the return of hostages and historic peace plan, let us not forget Jeremiah’s warning and remain sober about Hamas.