News Digest — 10/17/25
Trump: “If Hamas Keeps Killing People, We’ll Have No Choice But To Go In And Kill Them”
US President Donald Trump warned that Hamas was violating the ceasefire agreement by killing people in Gaza, and that Hamas members would themselves be killed if they did not stop.
Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform: “If Hamas continues to kill people in Gaza, which was not the deal, we will have no choice but to go in and kill them. Thank you for your attention to this matter.”
“Trump told CNN on Wednesday (15th) that Israel may resume its military operations in Gaza if Hamas fails to uphold the terms of the current ceasefire, stating Israeli forces could return to action “as soon as I say the word.”
“What’s going on with Hamas will be straightened out quickly,” President Trump said during a brief telephone interview with CNN.
Hamas has been failing to comply with a key provision of the ceasefire agreement, which requires the group to release both living and deceased hostages, While all 20 living hostages have been returned, only eight bodies have been handed over, and one does not belong to a hostage.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said Thursday (16th) that Israel knows for certain that Hamas can return the bodies of more hostages.
”We know, as a matter of fact, they can easily bring back a significant number of dead hostages, according to the agreement,” Sa’ar said.
Israel Blocking Turkish Rescue Teams From Gaza Until Hamas Returns Hostages’remains – Official
Israel will continue refusing to allow a Turkish delegation of 81 rescue personnel and heavy equipment to enter the Gaza Strip until Hamas returns all the remains of deceased hostages that it can, an Israeli official told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday (16th).
“There is a group of hostages’ bodies that Hamas can return right now, and another group they know the location of, but they need equipment and assistance to retrieve them,” another source said.
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said Thursday (16th): “We know for certain that Hamas can easily release a significant number of hostages in accordance with the agreement. What they are doing now is a fundamental violation of that agreement.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday (16th) convened senior security officials to discuss Hamas’ refusal to return the bodies of the fallen and the next phase of US President Donald Trump’s plan.
“I know exactly how many fallen soldiers Hamas is holding, and if we do not receive them, Israel will know how to act accordingly,” he said.
After the meeting, Netanyahu spoke with Trump regarding Hamas’ delayed return of the remaining deceased hostages in Gaza.
Israeli officials are expected to allow more time for the Trump administration to pressure the mediators to inturn, pressure Hamas before Israel takes further steps.
Meanwhile, despite statements by senior Israeli officials that there will be no discussion of Phase 2 of the Trump plan until all hostages are returned, the US and other countries are continuing to hold talks on the issue.
In the coming days, senior American, European, and Arab officials are expected to meet in Egypt to discuss the plan, two sources familiar with the details told the Post.
“There must not be a vacuum that allows Hamas to grow stronger,” Western diplomats told the Post.
MKs Propose Fast-Track Trials For October 7 Terrorists, Consider Death Penalty Option
Israel’s Justice Minister Yariv Levin, along with Knesset Constitution Chairman Simcha Rothman and MK Yulia Malinovsky, announced plans to advance legislation that would expedite the prosecution of Hamas’ Nukhba Force terrorists responsible for the October 7 massacre, possibly resulting in the death penalty.
The bill, which will soon be brought for its first reading in the Knesset, aims to fast-track the judicial process for those accused of participating in the coordinated attacks that left more than a thousand Israelis dead and hundreds kidnapped.
One outcome could be that the terrorists will be tried under Israel’s 1950 Law for the prevention of Genocide, which is based on the 1948 Genocide Convention, and could result in capital punishment.
Levin, Rothman and Malinovsky said the measure is intended to ensure that justice is “served properly and swiftly,” without unnecessary procedural delays.
In the months following the massacre, a special investigative team was established, including members of the State Prosecutor’s Office, Israel Police, and the Shin Bet security agency.
The team gathered extensive evidence–thousands of hours of video footage, testimonies, and intelligence reports–documenting the crimes committed during the assault.
Officials said that after months of investigation, indictments have been prepared against a number of terrorists.
However, they noted that legislative amendments are necessary to streamline the court process and prevent the backlog of cases that could otherwise delay the trials.
The proposed law, part of the government’s ongoing “Swords of Iron”campaign to ensure accountability for the October 7 atrocities, has broad support across coalition factions.
Lawmakers emphasized that its purpose is to maintain the rule of law while enabling the courts to respond proportionately to the scale and gravity of the attacks.
Justice Minister Levin stated that Israel owes it to the victims and their families to make sure those who took part in the massacre face judgment “as soon as possible.” The legislation, he added, reflects israel’s determination to pursue justice “with both strength and fairness.”
IDF Carries Out A Series Of Strikes On Hezbollah Targets In Lebanon
The IDF on Thursday (16th) struck Hezbollah infrastructure that the military said was used for the organization’s rehabilitation attempts in the Mazraat Sinai area in southern Lebanon.
The IDF noted that among the targets struck was a quarry in which Hezbollah produced cement to rebuild and reestablish its assets and terrorist infrastructure that were struck and dismantled during the”Swords of Iron” War, particularly during “Northern Arrows.”
According to the military, the infrastructure enabled Hezbollah’s continuous activity and the reestablishment of its terrorist activity under civilian disguise in Lebanon.
Additionally, the IDF also struck infrastructure used by the “Green Without Borders” organization. The organization had used the site to conceal terrorist activity aimed at rebuilding Hezbollah infrastructure in southern Lebanon, under a civilian guise.
The “Green Without Borders” organization, which was revealed in 2018, is an organization that operated under civilian cover to conceal the presence of Hezbollah in the border area with Israel.
“The presence of such infrastructure constitutes a violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon. The IDF will continue to operate in order to remove any threat to the State of Israel,” the IDF stated.
Houthis Admit Chief Of Staff Killed In Israeli Strike
During the war, Israel attempted twice to eliminate the Houthi Chief of Staff. In the first strike, which targeted Sana’a, he was wounded but survived. The second strike hit a meeting site linked to the Houthi government, which al-Ghamari was believed to have attended. In the days following the attack, the Houthis issued written statements in the name of their chief of staff in an apparent effort to create the impression that he was still alive. Now, the Yemeni terrorist organization has confirmed his death.
Al-Ghamari was regarded as one of the Houthis’ most senior military figures, rising to prominence during the terrorist organization’s campaign to seize Saada Province and the Yemeni capital Sana’a between 2013 and 2014.
According to Arab sources, al-Ghamari was considered the second most powerful figure in the Houthi hierarchy. He received training from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and had longstanding ties with the Quds Force and its then-commander, Qassem Soleimani. Reports indicate that some of Al-Ghamari’s training took place inside Iran, where he was instructed in the development of ballistic missile systems.
He came under the regional spotlight after assuming the position of chief of staff of the Houthi armed forces, and was placed on Arab states’ most-wanted lists in 2017. Since the outbreak of the war in Gaza nearly two years ago, al-Ghamari has been seen as one of the key figures behind Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea, as well as drone and ballistic missile launches targeting Israel.
Al-Ghamari was not only a military commander but also seen as an ideological figure within Ansar Allah, the group’s official name. In 2003, he studied at one of the centers established by the group’s former leader, Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi, who was later killed. During the Yemeni civil war, al-Ghamari became a close associate of the group’s current leader, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi.
Primary Credit For The Gaza Ceasefire Goes To The IDF – And Netanyahu – George F. Will
• The stark lesson of Israel’s achievement since October 7, 2023, is: Often military might does, and often only it can, make room for diplomacy.
• Primary credit for the ceasefire between Israel and those who still aspire to murder them, goes to the Israeli Defense Forces. Credit also goes to the prime minister who wielded the IDF with a properly austere regard for the opinions of mankind, Benjamin Netanyahu.
• The diplomats’ hour arrived after, and because of, the fighting by those who form the tip of Israel’s spear against unprovoked and wanton violence – the mostly young men and women of the IDF. To the Trump administration’s credit, the US has enabled Israel’s victory by not restraining its self-defense.
• Israel’s reality on Oct. 7 was that it was contiguous to an enclave under the thumb of organized sadists who sheltered behind a captive civilian population. The war that paused and perhaps ended last week reminded the world that Israel has never known a day of peace, properly understood.
• Israel has always had US support because it has earned it. It has never, however, been dependent on it. Centuries of hard experiences, culminating in Auschwitz, have taught the Jewish people the lethal risks of dependence on others.
• For decades, US officials belabored Israel with reasons why, in negotiations with bellicose enemies, it should “take a risk for peace.” To one official, Netanyahu, referring to a tranquil Washington suburb, replied, “You live in Chevy Chase. Don’t play with our future.”
• Israel has refused to trim its sails to accommodate gusts of critical opinions from people living comfortably at a safe distance from violence.
The writer, awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary, has been a Washington Post Columnist since 1974.
Gaza Celebrates While Hamas Prepares For The Next War – Clifford D. May
For the past few days, large crowds of healthy, energetic men, women and children have been cheering, dancing in the streets and chanting “Allahu akbar!” – all recorded on their fully charged cellphones. These scenes make clear there is no Israeli-engineered famine in Gaza, much less a genocide. A central pillar of Hamas’ war strategy has been to cause maximum hardship in Gaza, confident that useful idiots in the West would blame the Israelis.
Gaza had 36 hospitals, elegant restaurants, shopping malls and luxury auto dealerships. Such wonders were produced thanks to the river of foreign aid that flowed into Gaza after Hamas’ violent ascension to power in 2007, two years after Israel’s complete withdrawal from the territory. That left Hamas commander Yahya Sinwar free to devote his energies to war planning: importing munitions via Egypt, building weapons factories and constructing a subterranean fortress.
Sinwar instructed his terrorist troops to commit multiple atrocities, film them and then broadcast them. According to a memo acquired by the New York Times, he believed Muslims around the world would “respond positively to calls for them to join the revolution.”
Hamas troops have now emerged from their tunnels, proudly wearing their uniforms and reasserting control by executing opponents, rivals and dissidents. Hamas leaders regard the ceasefire with Israel not as “peace” but only a “hudna,” a truce during which they can prepare for the next battle in the jihad.
The writer is founder and president of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
