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Biden’s Perfidy Means More War
Yahya al-Sinwar, head of the Palestinian Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip, attends a meeting with people at a hall on the seashore in Gaza City. Photo: Yousef Masoud / SOPA Images/Sipa via Reuters Connect
JNS.org – This week, Israel offered a ceasefire deal to Hamas of “incredible generosity.” Those were the words of U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Then everybody waited and waited until the great “no” came.
At precisely the same time, Hamas fired on Israeli positions, killed four soldiers and wounded 11 others, two of them seriously. The fire came from Rafah—in the southernmost part of the Gaza Strip—where Hamas leaders hide in the depths of their tunnels, likely shielded by hostages. In Rafah, four of the terror group’s “battalions” are still operating.
Then the beleaguered southern city of Sderot was fired upon from Rafah, along with the very kibbutzim devastated by Hamas’s genocidal rampage on Oct. 7. Suddenly, Israel moved, taking the Rafah border crossing next to Sinai, moving 100,000 people from Rafah towards Khan Yunis and attempting to bring in more humanitarian aid.
At that moment, against all the cherished beliefs of the “good people” who think military action is counterproductive, Hamas announced that it accepted a “ceasefire.” Israel, understandably, dismissed the terror group’s perfidy. It knows now that Hamas is interested only in holding on to its hostages and protecting its genocidal leaders.
The reason is Hamas’s absurd demands. Its monstrous leader Yahya Sinwar is offering only 33 hostages, of which—he claims—only 18 are still alive. The release will be staggered, which means it can be stopped at any moment. In exchange, Israel will hand over dozens of murderers and terrorists. All the while, Hamas guzzles Iranian and Qatari weapons and cash. Then Sinwar, the perennial liar, pledges that a definitive ceasefire will be enacted.
Of course, all other possibilities are rejected, mainly because of the Biden administration’s perfidy. Clearly, the administration is now determined to prevent an Israeli victory and rescue Hamas. This was underlined by Biden’s recent decision to withhold a major arms transfer to Israel. He did so while hypocritically condemning antisemitism and Oct. 7 denial at a Holocaust memorial ceremony.
Ironically, this perfidy only prolongs the war. If they are being saved by the Americans, what possible motivation does Hamas have to agree to anything? Biden may want peace, but he appears oblivious to the fact that only Hamas’s destruction will bring it. A rescued Hamas means more war. If Biden wants to save civilians and bring the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to an end, nothing he can do makes this less likely than his policy of saving Hamas.
This absurd policy also strengthens all of Israel’s and America’s enemies: Hezbollah, the Houthis, Iraqi militias, and, above all, the monstrous tyranny in Iran.
It is clear that the Biden administration lacks moral clarity, a viable political plan and a comprehensible policy that will bring peace. The only good that has come from this perfidy is that it has united Israelis behind the imperative of entering Rafah and finally destroying Hamas.
The post Biden’s Perfidy Means More War first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.