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What Will This Ceasefire Actually Accomplish?

Supporters of Israeli hostages, who were kidnapped during the deadly Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas, react to news on the Gaza ceasefire negotiations, during a protest to demand a deal to bring every hostage home, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Jan. 15, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun

And just like that, a ceasefire is signed. But don’t be fooled — this is no grand peace deal. It’s a pause, a fragile truce held together by the thinnest of threads, with hostilities ready to reignite at the slightest provocation.

The agreement between Israel and Hamas paves the way for a prisoner-hostage exchange and a limited repositioning of Israeli forces in and around the Gaza Strip. In the first phase, Hamas and its allied militant factions will release 33 hostages — civilians, female soldiers, children, the elderly, and the sick. In return, Israel will release approximately 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, prioritizing those arrested after October 8, 2023, but not directly involved in the October 7 massacre.

The final deal was announced on Wednesday, and the reactions were telling. What struck me most about the response was this: before the ink on the ceasefire agreement had even dried, before it was even signed, before a single hostage was returned, before either side had even a moment to exhale, Hamas was already declaring “victory.”

And not just any victory. According to Khalil al-Hayya — one of Hamas’ senior leaders, who, from the comfort of his five-star luxury hotel in Qatar, helped negotiate the ceasefire — this was a “historic moment.”

Israel, he claimed, had been “defeated,” and Hamas had “thwarted” all of Israel’s goals. And then, the crowning statement: he called October 7 — a day of unfathomable horror, of murder, rape, and devastation, the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust — “a military accomplishment” and “a source of pride for the Palestinian people.”

And no sooner had al-Hayya issued his triumphant declaration than the celebrations in Gaza began.

Images quickly circulated of Gazans celebrating, flashing victory signs as if they had just won the World Cup. Gunfire rattled into the air, sweets were handed out, Hamas banners waved triumphantly, and chants of “Allahu Akbar” echoed through the streets.

Elated men shouted, “We are the men of Mohammed Deif” — a reference to the elusive Hamas military chief, mastermind of the October 7 massacre, who was assassinated by Israel during the war — and “Hail the Al-Qassam Brigades,” Hamas’s armed wing.

Never mind that Gaza is in ruins. Never mind that they have no economy, no security, and no functioning government. Never mind that they live at the mercy of whichever warlord holds the biggest gun this week. To them, somehow, this is a victory.

Some might look at this reaction — Palestinian defiance in the face of devastation — and see incredible resilience. How is it possible, after so much suffering, that the Palestinians can still claim victory? Surely, these people are unbreakable.

And yet, if you ask me, precisely this so-called “victory” mindset is their greatest weakness.

Hamas — and every Palestinian movement before them for over a century — have somehow convinced themselves that they never lose. No matter how catastrophic their situation becomes, they tell themselves they are winning as long as they keep fighting. They see this defiance as their superpower.

But in reality, it is their curse, their main source of weakness. It is why, after nearly eight decades of Israel’s existence, the Palestinians still have no state, no real control over their lives, and no future beyond endless war and unbearable suffering.

And if you think about it, we’ve seen this kind of delusional bravado before — at the dawn of Jewish history. This week, in synagogues across the world, we begin reading the Book of Exodus — the epic story of the Israelites’ enslavement in Egypt, their miraculous redemption, and the downfall of the mighty Egyptian Pharaoh.

Remarkably, Pharaoh was the original “never surrender” guy. He endured devastating plague after devastating plague — but still refused to yield. The entire country’s water supply turned to blood? No surrender. Frogs, lice, wild beasts, disease, locusts, and darkness? Still, no surrender.

And even after the final, most horrifying plague — the death of every Egyptian firstborn — when Pharaoh finally appeared to relent, he almost immediately regretted it and led his army in a desperate chase after the Israelites. Why? Because Pharaoh, like Hamas, and like the Palestinian leadership for the past century, believed that refusing to admit defeat was his greatest strength.

And how did that work out for him? The Midrash (Mechilta Beshalach 7:6) makes an extraordinary comment on the verse “Not one of them remained” (Ex. 14:28), which refers to the Egyptian army after they drowned in the Red Sea.

The verse’s curious Hebrew phraseology — lo nish’ar bahem, ad echad — suggests that when the Red Sea came crashing down, wiping out the most powerful army of the ancient world, there was, in fact, one Egyptian left standing. And guess who it was—Pharaoh himself. His entire army had been obliterated, his state-of-the-art war chariots lay shattered like broken toys, strewn among the lifeless bodies of his soldiers, and he was left utterly alone—defeated, humiliated, and stripped of everything.

Some say he drowned himself in despair. Others say he wandered off and eventually became the King of Nineveh, where, in the story of Jonah, he finally learned his lesson — immediately repenting at the first warning.

Either way, the image is striking: Pharaoh, standing alone on the shore, watching as the remnants of his once-mighty army washed up as lifeless corpses around him. The chariots that once symbolized his military dominance now lay around him, shattered and useless. If only he had admitted reality earlier. If only he had understood that his so-called strength was, in fact, his ultimate downfall.

And now, here we are, thousands of years later, watching Hamas make the exact same mistake. They refuse to surrender, so they keep losing. They refuse to admit they are beaten, so they remain in ruins. They refuse to acknowledge that their strategy of endless war has led them nowhere, so they stay trapped in a cycle of devastation — at the mercy of men like Khalil al-Hayya, who sits safely in Qatar, sipping over-sugared tea and proclaiming their “victory” from the comfort of his luxury exile, all while his Qatari patrons continue to bankroll his delusions.

The Jewish people, by contrast, know how to move forward. We understand that survival isn’t about blind defiance, it’s about considered wisdom. It’s about knowing when to fight and when to build. Real strength isn’t found in empty bravado that leads to inevitable self-destruction; it’s found in adapting, persevering, and creating a future worth living for.

Hamas looks to Pharaoh as a role model, but they should see him for what he truly was — a cautionary tale. They keep playing the same game, telling themselves they are winning, all while their world crumbles around them. They celebrate as they sink, clinging to defiance instead of recalibrating for a better future. In the end, just like Pharaoh, they will be left standing alone on the shore, watching the wreckage of their own making.

Instead of noisy victory parades, the Palestinians need to confront the reality of their defeat. Only then can they begin the hard work of building a future that is better than the misery they inhabit now. The sooner they wake up to this reality, the better — for their sake and everyone else’s.

The author is a rabbi in Beverly Hills, California. 

The post What Will This Ceasefire Actually Accomplish? first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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3rd Round of Nuclear Talks Between Iran, US Concludes in Oman

Atomic symbol and USA and Iranian flags are seen in this illustration taken, September 8, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

i24 NewsThe third round of talks between Iran and the United States over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program has concluded on Saturday, US media reported.

The two sides are understood to have discussed the US lifting of sanctions on Iran, with focuses on technical and key topics including uranium enrichment.

On April 12, the US and Iran held indirect talks in Muscat, marking the first official negotiation between the two sides since the US unilaterally withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal in May 2018 during President Donald Trump’s first term.

The second round of indirect talks took place in Rome, Italy, on April 19.

All parties, including Oman, stated that the first two rounds of talks were friendly and constructive, but Iranian media pointed out that the first two rounds were mainly framework negotiations and had not yet touched upon the core issues of disagreement.

According to media reports, one of the key issues in the expert-level negotiations will be whether Washington will allow Iran to continue uranium enrichment within the framework of its nuclear program. In response, Araghchi made it clear that Iran’s right to uranium enrichment is non-negotiable.

The US, Israel and other Western actors including the United Nation’s nuclear agency reject Iranian claims that its uranium enrichment is strictly civilian in its goals.

The post 3rd Round of Nuclear Talks Between Iran, US Concludes in Oman first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Hamas Says It’s Open to 5-Year Gaza Truce, One-Time Release of All Hostages

Demonstrators hold signs and pictures of hostages, as relatives and supporters of Israeli hostages kidnapped during the Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas protest demanding the release of all hostages in Tel Aviv, Israel, Feb. 13, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Itai Ron

i24 NewsThe Palestinian jihadists of Hamas said they were willing to secure an agreement with Israel that that would see them remain in charge of the enclave, a source told international media. The deal would include an internationally guaranteed five-year truce and the release of all Israeli hostages in a single batch.

The latest bid to seal a ceasefire follows an Israeli proposal which Hamas had rejected earlier in April as “partial,” urging a “comprehensive” agreement to halt the war ignited by the October 7 massacres.

Israel demands the return of all hostages seized in the 2023 attack, and the disarmament of Hamas, which the jihadists rejected as a “red line.”

An earlier Israeli offer, rejected by the Palestinian terrorists, included a 45-day ceasefire in exchange for the return of 10 living hostages.

More than a month into a renewed Israeli offensive in Gaza after a two-month truce, a Hamas official said earlier this week that its delegation in Cairo would discuss “new ideas” on a ceasefire.

The post Hamas Says It’s Open to 5-Year Gaza Truce, One-Time Release of All Hostages first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Suspected Chemical Blast at Iran’s Bandar Abbas Kills 4, Injures Hundreds

People walk after an explosion at the Shahid Rajaee port in Bandar Abbas, Iran, April 26, 2025. Photo: Mohammad Rasoul Moradi/IRNA/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS

A huge blast on Saturday likely caused by the explosion of chemical materials stored at Iran’s biggest port, Bandar Abbas, killed at least four people and injured more than 500, Iranian state media reported.

The explosion, which hit the Shahid Rajaee section of the port, occurred as Iran began a third round of nuclear talks with the United States in Oman, but there was no immediate indication of a link between the two events.

Hossein Zafari, a spokesperson for Iran’s crisis management organization, appeared to blame the explosion on poor storage of chemicals in containers at Shahid Rajaee.

“The cause of the explosion was the chemicals inside the containers,” he told Iran’s ILNA news agency.

“Previously, the Director General of Crisis Management had given warnings to this port during their visits and had pointed out the possibility of danger,” Zafari said.

An Iranian government spokesperson, however, said that although chemicals had likely caused the blast, it was not yet possible to determine the exact reason.

Iran’s official news channels aired footage of a vast black and orange cloud of smoke billowing up above the port in the aftermath of the blast, and an office building with its doors blown off and papers and debris strewn around.

Bandar Abbas is Iran’s largest port and handles most of its containers in transit.

The blast shattered windows within a radius of several kilometers and was heard in Qeshm, an island 16 miles south of the port, Iranian media said.

The semi-official Tasnim news agency posted footage of injured men lying on the road being tended to amid scenes of confusion.

State TV earlier reported that poor handling of flammable materials was a “contributing factor” to the explosion. A local crisis management official told state TV that the blast took place after several containers stored at the port exploded.

As relief workers tried to put out fires, the port’s customs officials said trucks were being evacuated from the area and that the container yard where the explosion occurred likely contained “dangerous goods and chemicals.” Activities at the port were halted after the blast, officials said.

DEADLY INCIDENTS

A series of deadly incidents have hit Iranian energy and industrial infrastructure in recent years, with many, like Saturday’s blast, blamed on negligence.

They have included refinery fires, a gas explosion at a coalmine, and an emergency repairs incident at Bandar Abbas killed one worker in 2023.

Iran has blamed some other incidents on its arch-foe Israel, which has carried out attacks on Iranian soil targeting Iran’s nuclear program in recent years and last year bombed the country’s air defenses.

Tehran said Israel was behind a February, 2024 attack on Iranian gas pipelines. And in 2020, computers at Shahid Rajaee were hit by a cyberattack. The Washington Post reported that Iran’s arch-foe Israel appeared to be behind that incident as retaliation for an earlier Iranian cyberattack.

Israel has indicated it is nervous about the outcome of US-Iran talks, demanding a full dismantlement of Iran’s nuclear program. Tehran says the program is used solely for peaceful purposes, while international observers say it is getting closer to being able to build a bomb.

There was no immediate comment from Israeli military or Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office when asked for comment on whether Israel was in any way involved in Saturday’s explosion.

Oil facilities were not affected by the blast on Saturday, Iranian authorities said. The National Iranian Petroleum Refining and Distribution Company said in a statement that it had “no connection to refineries, fuel tanks, distribution complexes and oil pipelines.”

The post Suspected Chemical Blast at Iran’s Bandar Abbas Kills 4, Injures Hundreds first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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