The Next Phase Is Critical For Peace

Yesterday we watched with a mixture of relief, joy, and sadness as, after more than two long years in captivity – enduring abuse and assault – the last surviving Israeli hostages taken during the horrific October 7 terrorist attacks have been returned home to their loved ones. We’re all praying and giving thanks to God for this monumental achievement. Today, we have peace. But the question is, will it last?

Israel and Hamas will have to finalize a peace agreement and stick to its terms. One thing is certain – the next phase will be critical.

As reported:

Hamas freed the last living Israeli hostages from Gaza on Monday under a ceasefire deal and Israel sent home busloads of Palestinian detainees, as U.S. President Donald Trump declared the end of the two-year long war that has upended the broader Middle East.

Hours later, Trump convened Muslim and European leaders in Egypt to discuss the future of the Gaza Strip and the possibility of a wider regional peace, even as Hamas and Israel, both absent from the gathering, are yet to agree on the next steps.

The Israeli military said it had received all 20 hostages confirmed to be alive, after their transfer from Gaza by the Red Cross. The announcement prompted cheering, hugging and weeping among thousands waiting at "Hostage Square" in Tel Aviv.

Among the twenty hostages returned yesterday morning were two ACLJ clients, Gali and Ziv Berman. Looking beyond the anger and heartbreak, today, I can only think of the Hebrew word hodu, which means “give thanks.” Over the last two years, we represented the families of several hostages. My dad, ACLJ Chief Counsel Jay Sekulow, along with my brother, ACLJ Executive Director Jordan Sekulow actually traveled to Capitol Hill with members of hostages' families to share their stories and advocate on their behalf. The release of brothers Gali and Ziv makes a total of eight hostages represented by the ACLJ that have been released by Hamas and returned to their loved ones.

ACLJ Senior Counsel for Global Affairs – and former U.S. Secretary of State – Mike Pompeo joined us on the broadcast to offer his unique insight into this historic moment. But the Secretary was quick to point out that there’s still a long road ahead, and Hamas needs to fully honor its end of the bargain, before this peace is official:

There's much more work that remains to be done. We still have the remains of many of those hostages that have not been returned. That concerns me greatly. The fact that they haven't returned them suggests they may well still intend to use those as leverage. That is, Hamas may intend to use those as leverage. I pray that that's not the case, and I pray that the Israelis and President Trump continue to put pressure on Hamas so we can deliver more joy and more good outcomes and more peace and prosperity to the region.

Secretary Pompeo made it clear that while there was nothing easy about getting Hamas to play ball and release the hostages, that may prove to be the easy part, but left us with a bit of hope as well:

It's going to be incredibly difficult, but it is completely achievable if the nations that came together to deliver this outcome will continue to work alongside each other. You've got to take down the tunnels that will take Gulf Arab support, money, resources. You've got to figure out how to deradicalize the Muslim Brotherhood and the Hamas actors that are inside of Gaza. You cannot let the UN go back to having these folks as permanent refugees and the status where UNRWA was being used to funnel money through food aid and delivery to Hamas. Those things have to just be broken. We can't go back to that model. The pre-October 7th model was a failure. So, this will be fraught. It will be difficult.

If we all stay focused on the ultimate objective, if President Trump can continue, and I suspect he will, to apply the coercive power that delivered Hamas to this moment – they're not looking for peace. Hamas isn't chasing peace. This was because they had no better option. If he continues to deliver that coercive power, we can get the remaining bodies of those who died in captivity – who were murdered by Hamas and are still being held – we can get them home. Then we can deliver a better outcome in Gaza and a more secure and stable Middle East, and a great outcome for Israel and a really wonderful outcome for the American people as well.

Now that the fighting has stopped, and the hostages have been returned, Israel will need to be extremely wise in how they deal with Hamas, while protecting Israelis and maintaining peace.

Today’s Sekulow broadcast included more discussion of yesterday’s momentous news as we watched the remaining surviving Israeli hostages returned to their loved ones. We give thanks for their safe release. And as always, we stand with Israel.

Watch the full broadcast below: