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The Ceasefire Hamas’ Western Enablers Delayed
Palestinian militants stand guard on the day that hostages held in Gaza since the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attack, are handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), as part of a ceasefire and hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Oct. 13, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ramadan Abed
The last surviving Israeli hostages are finally home. A ceasefire — fragile though it is — has been reached. The world is once again speaking about “peace.”
But let’s tell the truth: this moment could have happened nearly two years ago.
The framework now being hailed as a diplomatic breakthrough is not new. It is the same basic deal that Israel put on the table in late 2023:
- Release all Israeli hostages
- End Hamas’ military capabilities
- End Hamas’ rule in Gaza
That was the offer then. It is the offer now. The only difference is the cost in lives paid for by the delay.
For nearly two years, Hamas rejected these terms and waged a war designed to maximize Palestinian suffering and weaponize it for propaganda. And as it did, Hamas was shielded — not just by Qatar and Iran — but by Western celebrities, activists, academics, NGOs, and politicians who demanded only one thing: that Israel stop fighting back.
Today, those same voices are silent — not only about the hostages Hamas murdered in captivity — but about something even more revealing:
Hamas is now executing Palestinians in the streets of Gaza — without trial, without due process — and the parts of the “ceasefire now” crowd that aren’t openly celebrating these murders has nothing to say.
Videos from the last week show Hamas gunmen dragging Palestinian civilians from their homes and shooting them in public squares — accusing them of “collaboration” without evidence. Palestinians are being murdered by Hamas today. Right now. Not one “human rights” organization that spent two years slandering Israel as “genocidal” has organized a march to protest this. Not one campus coalition has issued a statement condemning it. Not one Western activist demanding a ceasefire before October 2025 has demanded that Hamas stop killing Palestinians.
Silence is a choice. And in this case, it is a confession.
This “Deal” Isn’t New — And Hamas Hasn’t Accepted Peace
Some in the media are pretending Hamas has now become “pragmatic.” That is delusion. Hamas did not accept peace — it accepted pressure.
Let’s be precise: Hamas has not accepted disarmament or surrendered power. Those requirements are in later phases of the ceasefire deal and must still be enforced. Hamas agreed only to a process — a process it spent two years rejecting because it believed Western pressure would eventually break Israel.
It took:
- relentless military pressure,
- targeted operations against Hamas leadership in Iran, Qatar, and Lebanon,
- US diplomatic leverage, and
- the collapse of Hamas control in northern and central Gaza
for Hamas to finally accept a phased framework that it could have accepted in 2023.
Had it done so then:
- Thousands of Palestinians killed in the war Hamas started on Oct. 7 would still be alive;
- Gaza neighborhoods would still be standing; and
- Dozens of hostages would not have died in Hamas tunnels, torture rooms, and cages.
So why did this agreement not happen sooner?
Because Hamas got help and lots of encouragement to keep the war going.
Many in the West Fought to Protect Hamas from the Consequences of Its Action on Oct. 7
Israel fought to free hostages and remove a genocidal terror regime from its border.
Yet “activists” in the West made no demands of Hamas. None.
- Thousands marched for “ceasefire now” — but not one of these marches demanded Hamas release hostages or surrender.
- “Human rights” groups wrote 300-page reports about Israel — but barely mentioned Hamas’ war crimes for using ordinary Gazans as human shields.
- University encampments mobilized for Gaza — but not one condemned Hamas for stealing aid, hoarding fuel, or executing Palestinians.
- NGOs repeated Hamas casualty numbers as fact — then fell silent when Hamas shot Palestinians lined up for bread.
This wasn’t “humanitarian concern.” It was moral complicity. And it gave Hamas exactly what it wanted: time. Time to regroup. Time to rewrite the narrative. Time to believe the West would eventually pressure Israel to cede to its continued control of Gaza.
Hamas’ Greatest Victims Are Palestinians
The loudest “pro-Palestinian” voices in the West refuse to admit a basic truth: Hamas is not a liberation movement. It is a death cult and a dictatorship.
In Gaza, Hamas has:
- Executed Palestinian political rivals and journalists
- Tortured and murdered Palestinians it suspects of disloyalty
- Used hospitals, schools, and mosques as firing positions
- Turned al-Shifa Hospital into a military HQ
- Stolen billions from Gazan reconstruction
- Forced civilians at gunpoint to remain in combat zones
- Used children as shields for Hamas terrorists and military infrastructure
- And executed Palestinians in public without any trial or due process as “traitors”
Yet when Israel targeted Hamas, the “ceasefire now” movement libelously accused Israel of genocide — but never once demanded that Hamas stop committing the actual war crimes that kept Palestinians in danger.
Their message was clear:
They were never anti-war. They were just anti-Israel.
Pressure Works. Appeasement Kills.
This ceasefire did not come from protests. It did not come from activists chanting “From the River to the Sea” or celebrities posting misinformation. It came from force, consequences, and moral clarity.
The only reason Hamas agreed to a deal at all is because it was cornered. It is not reformed. It is not moderate. It is not interested in coexistence. And it is not done trying to mass-murder Jews.
Anyone who thinks Hamas will voluntarily disarm or surrender power has learned nothing. Peace will require sustained pressure, verification, and international enforcement — not naïve trust.
A Moral Reckoning Is Still Needed
We celebrate the return of the hostages. We honor the soldiers who gave their lives to bring this moment closer. We grieve for the Palestinians who suffered and died — most of them because Hamas chose death over compromise.
But now, before history is rewritten again, we must say clearly:
This war did not have to last this long.
This ceasefire could have happened nearly two years ago.
Hamas delayed it — and Western enablers helped.
Those who spent two years screaming “Ceasefire now!” were not peacemakers. They were Hamas’ propaganda arm.
Peace built on lies is just a pause before the next war. Peace built on truth can last. And the truth is simple: Hamas — not Israel — started and prolonged this war. And the people who helped them do it should never again be allowed to disguise themselves as voices for peace.
Micha Danzig is an attorney, former IDF soldier, and former NYPD officer. He writes widely on Israel, antisemitism, and Jewish history and serves on the board of Herut North America.
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Cuba Defiant After Trump Says Island to Receive No More Venezuelan Oil or Money
A view shows part of Havana as U.S.-Cuba tensions rise after U.S. President Donald Trump vowed to stop Venezuelan oil and money from reaching Cuba and suggested the communist-run island to strike a deal with Washington, in Havana, Cuba, January 11, 2026. REUTERS/Norlys Perez
US President Donald Trump on Sunday said no more Venezuelan oil or money will go to Cuba and suggested the Communist-run island should strike a deal with Washington, ramping up pressure on the long-time US nemesis and provoking defiant words from the island’s leadership.
Venezuela is Cuba’s biggest oil supplier, but no cargoes have departed from Venezuelan ports to the Caribbean country since the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by US forces in early January amid a strict US oil blockade on the OPEC country, shipping data shows.
Meanwhile, Caracas and Washington are progressing on a $2 billion deal to supply up to 50 million barrels of Venezuelan oil to the US with proceeds to be deposited in US Treasury-supervised accounts, a major test of the emerging relationship between Trump and interim President Delcy Rodriguez.
“THERE WILL BE NO MORE OIL OR MONEY GOING TO CUBA – ZERO! I strongly suggest they make a deal, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Sunday.
“Cuba lived, for many years, on large amounts of OIL and MONEY from Venezuela,” Trump added.
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel rejected Trump’s threat on social media, suggesting the US had no moral authority to force a deal on Cuba.
“Cuba is a free, independent, and sovereign nation. Nobody dictates what we do,” Diaz-Canel said on X. “Cuba does not attack; it has been attacked by the US for 66 years, and it does not threaten; it prepares, ready to defend the homeland to the last drop of blood.”
The US president did not elaborate on his suggested deal.
But Trump’s push on Cuba represents the latest escalation in his move to bring regional powers in line with the United States and underscores the seriousness of the administration’s ambition to dominate the Western Hemisphere.
Trump’s top officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, have made no secret of their expectation that the recent US intervention in Venezuela could push Cuba over the edge.
US officials have hardened their rhetoric against Cuba in recent weeks, though the two countries have been at odds since former leader Fidel Castro’s 1959 revolution.
CUBA DEFENDS IMPORT RIGHTS
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said in another post on X on Sunday that Cuba had the right to import fuel from any suppliers willing to export it. He also denied that Cuba had received financial or other “material” compensation in return for security services provided to any country.
Thirty-two members of Cuba’s armed forces and intelligence services were killed during the US raid on Venezuela. Cuba said those killed were responsible for “security and defense” but did not provide details on the arrangement between the two long-time allies.
Cuba relies on imported crude and fuel mainly provided by Venezuela, and Mexico in smaller volumes, purchased on the open market to keep its power generators and vehicles running.
As its operational refining capacity dwindled in recent years, Venezuela’s supply of crude and fuel to Cuba has fallen. But the South American country is still the largest provider with some 26,500 barrels per day exported last year, according to ship tracking data and internal documents of state-run PDVSA, which covered roughly 50 percent of Cuba’s oil deficit.
Havana produce vendor Alberto Jimenez, 45, said Cuba would not back down in the face of Trump’s threat.
“That doesn’t scare me. Not at all. The Cuban people are prepared for anything,” Jimenez said.
It’s hard for many Cubans to imagine a situation much worse. The island’s government has been struggling to keep the lights on. A majority live without electricity for much of the day, and even the capital Havana has seen its economy crippled by hours-long rolling blackouts.
Shortages of food, fuel and medicine have put Cubans on edge and have prompted a record-breaking exodus, primarily to the United States, in the past five years.
MEXICO BECOMES KEY SUPPLIER
Mexico has emerged in recent weeks as a critical alternative oil supplier to the island, but the supply remains small, according to the shipping data.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum last week said her country had not increased supply volumes, but given recent political events in Venezuela, Mexico had turned into an “important supplier” of crude to Cuba.
US intelligence has painted a grim picture of Cuba’s economic and political situation, but its assessments offer no clear support for Trump’s prediction that the island is “ready to fall,” Reuters reported on Saturday, citing three people familiar with the confidential assessments.
The CIA’s view is that key sectors of the Cuban economy, such as agriculture and tourism, are severely strained by frequent blackouts, trade sanctions and other problems. The potential loss of oil imports and other support from Venezuela could make governing more difficult for Diaz-Canel.
Havana resident and parking attendant Maria Elena Sabina, a 58-year-old born shortly after Castro took power, said it was time for Cuba’s leaders to make changes amid so much suffering.
“There’s no electricity here, no gas, not even liquefied gas. There’s nothing here,” Sabina said. “So yes, a change is needed, a change is needed, and quickly.”
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NATO Should Launch Operation to Boost Security in Arctic, Belgian Minister says
Belgian Defence Minister Theo Francken speaks to journalists as he arrives to an informal meeting of European Union defence ministers in Copenhagen, Denmark, August 29, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Tom Little
NATO should launch an operation in the Arctic to address US security concerns, Belgium’s defense minister told Reuters on Sunday, urging transatlantic unity amid growing European unease about US President Donald Trump’s push to take control of Greenland.
“We have to collaborate, work together and show strength and unity,” Theo Francken said in a phone interview, adding that there is a need for “a NATO operation in the high north.”
Trump said on Friday that the US needs to own Greenland to prevent Russia or China from occupying it in the future.
European officials have been discussing ways to ease US concerns about security around Greenland, an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark.
Francken suggested NATO’s Baltic Sentry and Eastern Sentry operations, which combine forces from different countries with drones, sensors and other technology to monitor land and sea, as possible models for an “Arctic Sentry.”
He acknowledged Greenland‘s strategic importance but said “I think that we need to sort this out like friends and allies, like we always do.”
A NATO spokesperson said on Friday that alliance chief Mark Rutte spoke with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio about the importance of the Arctic for shared security and how NATO is working to enhance its capabilities in the high north.
Denmark and Greenland‘s leaders have said that the Arctic island could not be annexed and international security did not justify such a move.
The US already has a military presence on the island under a 1951 agreement.
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IDF Strikes Hezbollah Weapons Sites in Lebanon After Army Denied Its Existence
Israeli strikes targeting Hezbollah’s terror infrastructure. Photo: Via i23, Photo from social media used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law.
i24 News – The Israel Defense Forces carried out airstrikes on a site in southern Lebanon that the Lebanese Army had previously declared free of Hezbollah activity, Israeli officials said on Sunday, citing fresh intelligence that contradicted Beirut’s assessment.
According to Israeli sources, the targeted location in the Kfar Hatta area contained significant Hezbollah weapons infrastructure, despite earlier inspections by the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) that concluded no military installations were present.
Lebanese officials had conveyed those findings to international monitoring mechanisms, and similar claims were reported in the Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar.
Israeli intelligence assessments, however, determined that Hezbollah continued to operate from the site.
During a second wave of strikes carried out Sunday, the IDF attacked and destroyed the location.
Video footage released afterward showed secondary explosions, which Israeli officials said were consistent with stored weapons or munitions at the site.
The IDF stated that the strike was conducted in response to what it described as Hezbollah’s ongoing violations of ceasefire understandings between Israel and Lebanon. Military officials said the targeted structure included underground facilities used for weapons storage.
According to the IDF, the same site had been struck roughly a week earlier after Israel alerted the Lebanese Army to what it described as active terrorist infrastructure in the area. While the LAF conducted an inspection following the warning, Israeli officials said the weapons facilities were not fully dismantled, prompting Sunday’s follow-up strike.
The IDF said it took measures ahead of the attack to reduce the risk to civilians, including issuing advance warnings to residents in the surrounding area.
“Hezbollah’s activity at these sites constitutes a clear violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon and poses a direct threat to the State of Israel,” the military said in a statement.
Israeli officials emphasized that operations against Hezbollah infrastructure would continue as long as such threats persist, underscoring that Israel retains the right to act independently based on its own intelligence assessments.