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Hostage Deal Is a Necessary Deal With the Devil
Aviv Asher, 2,5-year-old, her sister Raz Asher, 4,5-year-old, and mother Doron, react as they meet with Yoni, Raz and Aviv’s father and Doron’s husband, after they returned to Israel to the designated complex at the Schneider Children’s Medical Center, during a temporary truce between Hamas and Israel, in Petah Tikva, Israel, in this handout picture released on November 25, 2023. Photo: Schneider Children’s Medical Center Spokesperson/Handout via REUTERS.
In opposing the current deal to release Palestinian terrorists in return for innocent Israeli hostages, many point to the deal where Israel got back kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit for 1,027 Palestinian prisoners, including Yahya Sinwar, now a chief leader of Hamas. Even if that deal was miscalculated, this one is different.
Many are discussing how they are for or against the deal, which is supposed to free 50 — mainly women and children — in return for Palestinian women and children (or people who started as children) most of whom were convicted of violent crimes. I wish we could get all our hostages back now, but it is crucial to save the lives of at least these 50.
There is a huge concern that Israeli soldiers will lose actionable intelligence and that Hamas will re-arm and perhaps Sinwar will escape. We’re already hearing reports that Hamas is telling all its civilians to go back into areas where Israel is operating, which could hamper future military action.
Any time an army has momentum and its enemy is on the ropes, it’s never a good idea to stop. But to bring back hostages out of Hell, you have to make a deal with the devil.
We learn in the Talmud that “whoever saves a single life, is considered by scripture to have saved the whole world.”
This shows that freeing captives is sacrosanct. At the same time, there is a real fear that freeing criminal prisoners will only encourage more kidnapping. Here’s a big secret: evil people, who make it their mission to kill and torture, will find a way to do it.
Some of the prisoners being released were violent and we know that violent criminals will likely be violent again. How do you stop that from happening? These are tough questions with no good answers.
But you can’t answer the cry of a relative who wants their loved one back with, “Sorry, maybe at a later point” — because at a later point, they may not be alive.
Israel did not ask to be in this war or to be in this position. We do know we are dealing with terrorists we cannot trust.
The ceasefire is a clear propaganda win for Hamas and gives them legitimacy. But this decision, as hard as it was, may be followed by a much harder decision: What if after the four days, Hamas says it will continue to release hostages but only if Israel releases some of the most dangerous murderers and terror planners?
Israel must calculate at what point their soldiers lose so much that many are in danger, and at what point the population is in peril if certain criminals are let go. President Biden had been pushing for a ceasefire, and perhaps while getting hostages back, this will get Israel some points with the United States.
A big tragedy is the failure of the international community and all major countries for not strongly demanding all hostages back from day one.
Based on the information that is known, we must be thankful to get these hostages back. We shouldn’t do this with blinders on, and should continue to make a cost-benefit analysis, while respecting the lives of all the hostages.
American college students who took down posters of the hostages thought they were big shots. Should these hostages be released, I hope these college students take a look in the mirror and work on being less hateful. It isn’t likely.
The author is a writer based in New York.
The post Hostage Deal Is a Necessary Deal With the Devil first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Rubio Heads to Israel Amid Tensions Among US Middle East Allies
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to members of the media, before departing for Israel at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, US, September 13, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Nathan Howard/Pool
US President Donald Trump’s top diplomat, Marco Rubio headed to Israel on Saturday, amid tensions with fellow US allies in the Middle East over Israel’s strike on Hamas leaders in Qatar and expansion of settlements in the West Bank.
Speaking to reporters before departure, Rubio reiterated that the US and President Donald Trump were not happy about the strikes.
Rubio said the US relationship with Israel would not be affected, but that he would discuss with the Israelis how the strike would affect Trump’s desire to secure the return of all the hostages held by Hamas, get rid of the terrorists and end the Gaza war.
“What’s happened, has happened,” he said. “We’re gonna meet with them. We’re gonna talk about what the future holds,” he said.
“There are still 48 hostages that deserve to be released immediately, all at once. And there is still the hard work ahead once this ends, of rebuilding Gaza in a way that provides people the quality of life that they all want.”
Rubio said it had yet to be determined who would do that, who would pay for it and who would be in charge of the process.
After Israel, Rubio is due to join Trump’s planned visit to Britain next week.
Hamas still holds 48 hostages, and Qatar has been one of the mediators, along with the US, trying to secure a ceasefire deal that would include the captives’ release.
On Tuesday, Israel attempted to kill the political leaders of Hamas with an airstrike on Doha. US officials described it as a unilateral escalation that did not serve American or Israeli interests.
The strike on the territory of a close US ally sparked broad condemnation from other Arab states and derailed ceasefire and hostage talks brokered by Qatar.
On Friday, Rubio met with Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani at the White House, underscoring competing interests in the region that Rubio will seek to balance on his trip. Later that day, US President Donald Trump held dinner with the prime minister in New York.
Rubio’s trip comes ahead of high-level meetings at the United Nations in New York later this month. Countries including France and Britain are expected to recognize Palestinian statehood, a move opposed by Israel.
Washington says such recognition would bolster Hamas and Rubio has suggested the move could spur the annexation of the West Bank sought by hardline members of the Israeli government.
ON Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signed an agreement to push ahead with a settlement expansion plan that would cut across West Bank land that the Palestinians seek for a state. Last week, the United Arab Emirates warned that this would cross a red line and undermine the U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords that normalized UAE-Israel relations in 2020.
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Netanyahu Posts Message Appearing to Confirm Hamas Leaders Survived Doha Strike
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a Plenum session of the Knesset, Israel’s Parliament, in Jerusalem, June 11, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
i24 News – In a statement posted to social media on Saturday evening, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the Qatar-based leadership of Hamas, reiterating that the jihadist group had to regard for the lives of Gazans and represented an obstacle to ending the war and releasing the Israelis it held hostage.
The wording of Netanyahu’s message appeared to confirm that the strike targeting the Hamas leaders in Doha was not crowned with success.
“The Hamas terrorists chiefs living in Qatar don’t care about the people in Gaza,” wrote Netanyahu. “They blocked all ceasefire attempts in order to endlessly drag out the war.” He added that “Getting rid of them would rid the main obstacle to releasing all our hostages and ending the war.”
Israel is yet to officially comment on the result of the strike, which has incurred widespread international criticism.
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Trump Hosts Qatari Prime Minister After Israeli Attack in Doha
Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani attends an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council, following an Israeli attack on Hamas leaders in Doha, Qatar, at UN headquarters in New York City, US, Sept. 11, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
US President Donald Trump held dinner with the Qatari prime minister in New York on Friday, days after US ally Israel attacked Hamas leaders in Doha.
Israel attempted to kill the political leaders of Hamas with an attack in Qatar on Tuesday, a strike that risked derailing US-backed efforts to broker a truce in Gaza and end the nearly two-year-old conflict. The attack was widely condemned in the Middle East and beyond as an act that could escalate tensions in a region already on edge.
Trump expressed annoyance about the strike in a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and sought to assure the Qataris that such attacks would not happen again.
Trump and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani were joined by a top Trump adviser, US special envoy Steve Witkoff.
“Great dinner with POTUS. Just ended,” Qatar’s deputy chief of mission, Hamah Al-Muftah, said on X.
The White House confirmed the dinner had taken place but offered no details.
The session followed an hour-long meeting that al-Thani had at the White House on Friday with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
A source briefed on the meeting said they discussed Qatar’s future as a mediator in the region and defense cooperation in the wake of the Israeli strikes against Hamas in Doha.
Trump said he was unhappy with Israel’s strike, which he described as a unilateral action that did not advance US or Israeli interests.
Washington counts Qatar as a strong Gulf ally. Qatar has been a main mediator in long-running negotiations for a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza, for the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza and for a post-conflict plan for the territory.
Al-Thani blamed Israel on Tuesday for trying to sabotage chances for peace but said Qatar would not be deterred from its role as mediator.