The deal with the devil and Trump’s ‘bought’ envoy

Robin Benson chronicles Israel’s terrible dilemma over releasing hostages in exchange for murderous terrorists. This was written before Yarden Bibas was released, followed by Israel – and Christians around the world – learning that his wife, Shiri, and their two red-headed sons had been strangled soon after their kidnapping

The clocks – virtual or otherwise – ticked down towards 6.30am local time in Israel on Sunday 19 January. There was still uncertainty over whether the much-vaunted and highly publicised ceasefire with Hamas would actually come into operation. The initial deadline came and went because Hamas still had not provided a list of names of the first three Israeli hostages to be freed at 4pm local time later that day. Prime Minister (PM) Netanyahu made it clear: no list, no ceasefire.

At some point in the following hours that very short list did appear, and at 11:15am Israeli time the ceasefire began. Since it had been such a rocky road to get to that point, it is anyone’s guess as to whether or not it will hold. But for many Israelis, as well as Jewish people worldwide, and their Christian supporters, there are varying degrees of hope that somehow it will. After over 15 months of soul-wearying and strength-draining conflict that is completely understandable.
(See box below for a summary of phase one of the ceasefire deal)

However, for other Israelis, what has been negotiated in Qatar is nothing short of betrayal. Without doubt they will be happy, to some degree or other, that 33 of their fellow citizens are due for release from the hell they have endured since 7 October 2023. But at this stage no one knows how many of these 33 are alive or dead? All their names have been released – infants through to the elderly – but apparently little else in the way of useful information was disclosed.

Later that day, there were indeed highly emotional scenes as the first three – all young women – were reunited initially with their mothers, and then later with their families. But these scenes were tainted in the eyes of many with the horrendous scenes of jubilation by the Islamist militants as they jeered at these frightened captives being handed over to Red Cross representatives, coupled with the triumphant celebrations among Palestinian Arabs as dozens of terrorists – including murderers – were released from Israeli prisons.

The genocidal Islamists and their allies are still in control of the Gaza Strip

So, let us be clear: these 33 captives are not all being handed over in one go, but are supposed to be released in dribs and drabs over the six weeks following the commencement of the ceasefire. For those who are still alive, literally only God knows what physical and mental/emotional state they will be in. Whatever that is, they have been traumatised beyond human understanding, and their families, friends, and the whole nation will have to deal with that trauma for a long time to come.

PM Netanyahu finds himself in yet another unenviable situation. Despite his many hundreds of repeated declarations that Israel would destroy Hamas, and would not stop until it had done so, the reality is that the genocidal Islamists and their allies are still in control of the Gaza Strip. As the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) began to withdraw from various areas in Gaza, social media was awash with scenes of Hamas personnel and their supporters celebrating their “victory” over their Zionist enemies; and among some leaders of the IDF there is open acknowledgment that Hamas has already recruited over 20,000 new fighters and begun to rebuild itself in much of the Gaza Strip.

All of this is compounded by another perceived “betrayal”. That of President Donald Trump. Before his inauguration, he bombastically declared that if ALL the hostages were not released before 20 January, then there would be “hell to pay”. However, in the last few days before the implementation of the “deal” negotiated in Qatar, multiple media and social media outlets in Israel exposed the fact that President Trump’s representative at the talks had made it explicitly clear to not only in threats to Hamas, but also to PM Netanyahu that he had to accept the terms of the “deal” or else.

Israel’s Channel 14 broadcast that Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, is in fact a Qatari asset, thanks to the Qataris having bailed him out on a property deal a few years ago. Witkoff is both acting as Qatar’s voice in the Trump administration and put intolerable pressure on Netanyahu to accept the ceasefire deal which leaves Hamas in control of the Gaza Strip. Moreover, it is claimed that Qatar is arming Hamas again, sending weapons and powerful cameras on its ‘aid’ lorries.

So President Trump takes up residence in the White House again and can crow about the great “deal” he and his administration engineered. But at what cost? Between 60 and 70 Israeli hostages remain captive, their future uncertain. (As of posting this article – 28 February 2025 – we learned that Israel believes just 22 or 24 have survived)
Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) in Gaza have already threatened to murder those in their hands if Israel does not stop fighting altogether.

From past experience, the number of murders that the terrorists released so far will commit is 400. That means 400 more dead Jews for these three young women.

For the non-Hamas-affiliated Gazans, which includes a couple of hundred Catholics sheltering in a church, the suffering inflicted by their terrorist overlords continues.

Meanwhile, PM Netanyahu’s coalition is left with a very slender majority of two in the Knesset, after one right-wing party left the government in protest over this “deal”; and many Israelis – inside and outside the IDF – are very angry over this betrayal, and all the lives lost or seriously injured over the past 15 months…for what? The release of hundreds, if not thousands of Islamist terrorists to once again take up arms against the Jewish State, and the shadow of “7 October 2023, mark 2” at some point in the future. That is truly a “great deal” Mr Prime Minister and Mr President!

Robin Benson is a Christian commentator who appears regularly on Revelation TV and holds Bible studies and prayer meetings online.