Dem
47
GOP
53
While Donald Trump certainly appears to be getting outmaneuvered by Russia, things look to be a bit better on the Gaza front. Hamas backed down on its threat to stop releasing hostages, and returned to compliance with the agreement negotiated in the waning days of the Biden administration. If Hamas sticks with the plans it announced yesterday, it will turn over six living hostages and the bodies of four dead hostages on Saturday.
As we have written many times, this is definitely not our area. And in this particular case, information on the ground appears to be exceedingly thin. It is possible that Hamas was cowed by Trump's bluster and threats. If so, then kudos to him for handling the situation correctly. That said, it looks more likely that Trump's bluster was really for the benefit of the U.S. audience, and that the progress being made is because of diplomacy on the part of Israel, Qatar, Egypt and Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff.
We don't really have much to say here, other than to reiterate the hope—shaky as it may be—that the peace will hold and the bloodshed will end. If that does prove to be the case, it will be a feather in Trump's cap, regardless of how the administration actually got there. (Z)