adminIn a striking turn Friday, Hamas told mediators it has accepted key elements of President Trump’s 20-point Gaza peace plan — including a pledge to hand over administration of Gaza to a technocratic body and to return the remaining hostages — while reserving some points for further negotiation; reports say roughly 48 hostages remain and about 20 may still be alive.
Mr. Trump publicly gave Hamas a hard deadline and then ordered Israel to halt bombardment so a safe, orderly exchange could proceed, a blunt, results-first approach that put pressure where it belongs: squarely on the terrorists and their enablers.
The framework on the table calls for an immediate ceasefire, prisoner swaps, and a temporary international trusteeship for Gaza — even proposing oversight roles for Trump and former British prime minister Tony Blair — while Hamas accepted some items in principle but stopped short of agreeing to full disarmament.
This is the kind of unapologetic American leadership conservatives have been calling for: plainly put, strength and clarity force bad actors to the table where weakness only emboldens them. If past administrations had shown this kind of backbone, we would not be watching families beg for the return of loved ones while Brussels and the U.N. bicker over press releases.
Israel has reacted with cautious pragmatism, rightly insisting that any deal must be verifiable and that Hamas’ surrender and disarmament cannot be mere words on a piece of paper; Prime Minister Netanyahu has balanced the urgent need to bring hostages home with the hard requirement of long-term Israeli security.
Hardworking Americans should demand the same clarity and resolve from our leaders now: secure the hostages, insist on disarmament, and refuse to reward terror with legitimacy. The politics and the talk will come later — first, get our people home and make sure Gaza can never again be a platform for slaughter.
