HAMAS MAKING A MOCKERY OF TRUMP'S PEACE PLAN

Hamas’s grotesque theater of cruelty tests Israel’s resolve

After the terror group staged a macabre provocation, Jerusalem must respond firmly yet keep its eyes on the broader Trump peace plan. 

 

By Fiamma Nirenstein 

 

JNS

Oct 29, 2025

 

 

Israeli drones captured the moments Hamas terrorists threw a body out of a window into a pit and then attempting to bury the body under dirt and sand.

 

Hamas is once again playing hardball—provoking, violating the truce and openly challenging both Israel and the United States. Overnight on Monday, while the world looked on in disbelief at the grotesque “return” of a hostage’s body, the terror group launched another attack, ambushing Israeli soldiers in southern Gaza with anti-tank weapons.

At the same time, it cynically announced—and then withdrew—its supposed decision to hand over one of the bodies of the 13 hostages it still holds.

Provocation is Hamas’s only real strategy. It thrives on humiliation and cruelty, using deceit as diplomacy. The challenge for Israel is to resist the trap—to respond decisively, yet without derailing the larger peace framework still on the table. The situation has grown more complex amid internal tensions between Egypt, Qatar and Turkey.

Exploiting this confusion, Hamas has pushed beyond every limit, aware that the clock is ticking on Trump’s 48-hour deadline after which he once again vowed to ensure its destruction.

As the farce of the “body’s return” unfolded, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz ordered strikes on Rafah. Israel cannot stand idly by as Hamas desecrates the dead and fires on its soldiers. Yet it also seeks to preserve what remains of the American-led peace track. 

Militarily, Israel holds the upper hand, controlling around 60% of Gaza. With most hostages either freed or tragically gone, and Hamas weakened in men and arms, Israel could, if it chooses, strike decisively.

But the greater strategic goal remains the broad peace plan of U.S. President Donald Trump—a vision of regional realignment and normalization, encompassing the Abraham Accords and beyond.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu understands the stakes: his calculus has been to let Egypt mediate cautiously while keeping Qatar and Turkey out of the core process. Rightly accusing Hamas of “a blatant violation” of the ceasefire-for-hostages agreement, he ordered “forceful strikes” in Gaza on Tuesday.

For the remains of the last 13 hostages held by Hamas, every effort is being made. Hamas still has the chance to return more bodies, but doing so would mean entering the next phase—disarmament.

That, for Israel, is essential to achieving the full dismantling of Hamas and Hezbollah, the weakening of Iran and the Houthis, and rapprochement with Lebanon, Syria and Saudi Arabia.

Nothing should endanger that progress, but neither can Israel avoid confrontation. Trump, weighing his next move, is consulting with CENTCOM in its new Kiryat Gat command complex. He has insisted that “nothing is going to jeopardize” the ceasefire, warning, “If Hamas does not behave, they will be terminated.”

Hamas’s aim is clear: to drag Israel away from the strategic vision of peace and isolate it once again. Israel must not fall into this trap.

Meanwhile, anger and disbelief are growing. Many Israelis are asking how an agreement could have been made with such an enemy, and why heavy machinery is needed to “find” bodies when Hamas already knows where they are.

In truth, the excavators seem more useful for concealing tunnels than uncovering the truth. The macabre scene—of the partial remains of 27-year-old Ofir Tzarfati dumped into a pit and theatrically “discovered” before being handed to the Red Cross—was an act of psychological warfare no less horrific than the massacre of Oct. 7.

Hamas knew its deception would be exposed, as it was in the cases of Yarden Bibas and others. Yet it continues, feeding off the poison it spreads. The same organization that signed its name to mass rape, murder, and arson is now scripting scenes of false compassion.

Even provoked, Israel is unlikely to break with Washington. It will respond militarily where necessary, but with an eye on the larger prize—lasting regional peace.

Hamas, in its usual duplicity, now claims that supposed Israeli violations prevent it from releasing another body. The excuse is absurd—but the purpose is clear: to stall peace and preserve its own power.

Israel knows it is fighting on two fronts—one on the battlefield, the other against despair and manipulation. The war must be won, but not at the cost of losing sight of what comes after: a region in which Israel stands strong, secure and unashamed to lead with both courage and conscience.