What A Surprise

For those who doubted me when I said that Hamas knew where all the remaining hostage remains were all the time, we’re told in a report from The Jerusalem Post that the US knows where that body is:

US President Donald Trump said that US intelligence knows where slain Israeli hostage St.-Sgt.-Maj. Ran Gvili's body is located within Gaza, during a Tuesday press conference in Washington, DC.

Trump said exactly that:

"We got the 28 hostages; they have one left, that we think we know where it is. Amazing," Trump said.

The mother of the slain hostage went even further:

“President Trump’s statement confirms what we have been saying for the past three months: Hamas knows exactly where our son is and has knowingly and deliberately violated President Trump’s framework and the agreement to return all hostages," Gvili's mother, Talik, said in a Tuesday evening statement following Trump's announcement.

And she’s exactly right. When Hamas returned the remains of an Israeli soldier they killed in 2014, it proved just how much they value these remains. There is no way I believe they’ve suddenly lost one now. Talik then pushed both the US and Israel to do everything they can to get her son’s remains back:

"The responsibility now lies with the Government of Israel and the US administration to exert the full weight of their authority to ensure that Hamas fulfills its obligations under the agreement, or guarantee that serious sanctions are imposed on Hamas."

She then said the quiet part out loud when she brought up moving to phase 2 of the deal:

"We have no doubt that he is a man of his word, and we believe we will see Rani home soon," she concluded, reaffirming that the government must "refrain from any steps toward implementing Phase Two until Rani has returned.”

Hamas, for their part still says they don’t know where the body is:

According to a report from Al Jazeera, Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem stated that the group has shared all available information about the location of Gvil. He said, "We have provided all the information we have regarding the body of the last Israeli prisoner (Ran Gvili)."

To which I call shenanigans. They lie when it gets them what they want and they actually believe that’s ok.

Who is Ran Gvili?

It is a good thing to know who we’re talking about here:

Gvili, the last remaining Israeli hostage in the Gaza Strip, was taken captive on October 7 during the battle at Kibbutz Alumim.

Talik added this about his capture by Hamas:

“The intelligence is that Ran was not killed on the spot," Gvili's mother, Talik, told Maariv in a December interview.

She believes that Ran died because Hamas ignored his wounds:

"We know he was wounded in the heroic battle at Kibbutz Alumim, hit by a bullet in his hand and shoulder area. Intelligence believes he didn’t receive medical treatment and therefore didn’t survive," she added.

If we even trust them, Hamas is getting help from Israel to start the search again:

On January 7, a source confirmed to The Jerusalem Post that, in coordination with Israel, Hamas restarted its search for Gvili's remains.

The area is complicated by where the searches are occurring:

The search is occurring in Zeitoun, in northern Gaza. The neighborhood is split by the Yellow Line that divides the enclave between Hamas-controlled areas and Israel-controlled territories. The coordination with Israel allows Hamas to continue the search on the IDF’s side of the Yellow Line.

Will they “find” his body? Not as long as Hamas is involved. The staged search by these terrorists will only extend their stalling as they rebuild themselves in the areas they still control. Hezbollah and the Houthi rebels in Yemen, along with Iran are preparing for one last attack on Israel as well. I pray that President Trump isn’t fooled by these tactics and taking bad advice from anyone who thinks these terrorists are dealing in good faith. They never have and they never will. Like their revered leader Mohammed way back in the seventh century 640 AD who brokered a peace deal only to break it when his military strength was strong enough, Hamas will break the current one. Listen to this article from Honest Reporting and see what I mean about any ceasefire:

As for Hamas, they have proven time and again their commitment to a tactical hudna — replenishing their strength during the quiet periods, then returning with increased deadliness. As recently documented by The Washington Institute, Hamas agreed to no less than ten ceasefires in the past ten years, and after every single one returned freshly armed for terror. Hundreds of Israeli citizens have paid for these hudnas with their lives … Israeli leadership is convinced, therefore, that yet another hudna would jeopardize three years of painstaking IDF anti-terror work that has left Hamas and Islamic Jihad reeling.

When was this written? Way back in 2005 when the ceasefire allowed the Gaza Strip to be occupied solely by these terrorists. It ended with this statement:

“A truce is crucial for implementing a U.S.-backed peace plan, the ‘road map’ to Palestinian statehood by 2005. In the first stage, the Palestinians must dismantle militant groups, while Israel must gradually withdraw to positions held before the outbreak of fighting 33 months ago.”

And here we are again thinking it will work this time. Same people. Same tactics. And I fear the same results unless everybody realizes they are being played. Here’s looking at you Trump and your team. When you walk past that picture of former President Ronald Reagan, remember two things he said: “Peace through strength” and “Trust but verify.” It’s high time for both in Gaza and with all these terrorists.