Let me begin by trying, however ineffectively, to encapsulate the absolute joy of the people of Israel that the remaining living hostages kidnapped by Hamas and tortured and starved in their evil tunnels for over two years have finally been freed.

And even though the war is not yet over – not by a long shot; and even though all of those hostages savagely murdered by Hamas have not yet been returned in violation of the agreement (did you ever doubt Hamas would not keep its word?); and even though Hamas is still in charge of Gaza and killing its opponents and opening fire on our troops and will have to be violently disarmed; still, we are a country in the grips of a big hug by our Father in Heaven, Whom we bless and thank for this miracle.

To witness the parents embrace their children; the wives embrace their husbands, the children play with their fathers, some so young they don’t remember him at all, is nothing short of an injection of pure happiness into our tired, frazzled, heartbroken beings.  That it came during the Sukkot holiday, called the time of happiness, is no coincidence.

As hostages begin to speak, Israelis are horrified once more at the brutality of their Hamas captors. One of the hostages, Avinatan Or, who was kidnapped along with his girlfriend Noa Argamani, said he was held in the central Gaza Strip for most of the war under severe conditions, including prolonged starvation. An initial medical examination found that he had lost between 30% and 40% of his body weight. He was isolated and didn’t see another hostage the entire two years. Upon his release, Or reportedly asked to spend time alone with his girlfriend, former hostage Noa Argamani, as the two shared what they described as their “first cigarette together after two years.”

I am reading the talkbacks on these hostage stories and am astonished by the evil people who basically are sorry they were released, calling them “soldiers who killed Gazan women and children.” Who started this war? Who hid behind women and children? But you know what, I give up trying to education the ignorant. As in the times of Noah, the entire world is filled with “hamas” meaning violence and evil, making God sorry He ever created the world, and making the decision to wipe it all out except for one enlightened man who deserved to live, Noach. Maybe the world is getting to that point again. If I was a Hamas supporter, I’d be very, very worried.

The experience of the war and hostage release will now be added to the long history of the Jewish people. And if someone should ask you how it is that the Jewish people have survived all the attempts to destroy them throughout thousands of years, I can safely say this: The Jewish people survive because they love being Jewish so much. They love their Torah, their holidays and customs, their history, their holy books, and the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. It is this love which is so deep, so real, so vital to our existence that makes possible every sacrifice, every resilient rebirth. It is how we survived the Holocaust, and how we reclaimed our ancestral homeland. It is how we will survive and thrive after October 7 despite all the barbaric, causeless hatred of Islamic terror and its ignorant, antisemitic supporters worldwide.

For all generations to come, this time of miracles we have lived through, will serve to deepen our faith and inspire, direct, and infuse us with the courage to rise up, as we did in the last two years, and defeat no less than seven rich, well-armed genocidal terrorist regimes bent on our destruction. Am Yisrael Chai.

The war in Gaza, which has gone cold due a dubious ceasefire based on agreements not being fulfilled, will soon go hot, with Israel forced to invade and forcibly disarm Hamas terrorists.

In the meantime, Islamists attempt to take advantage. What, for example, are Erdogan’s group of soldiers, ostensibly in Gaza to “help find our fallen hostages” actually doing here? Why is the Palestinian Office in Egypt issuing directives about the opening of the Rafah crossing that will allow anyone in Egypt (as well as terrorists and weapons) to flood back into Gaza? The Prime Minister’s Office has issued a blunt response that the Rafah crossing will closed “until further notice.”

This morning, Hamas opened fire on IDF engineers in Gaza over the ceasefire line. Israel responded by sending in planes to successfully destroy them.

There is no doubt in my mind that we are going back into Gaza. We will disarm Hamas, even if that means letting the weapons fall from dead arms. If they are eager to continue, they shall meet equal enthusiasm on our side, especially now that we are no longer fearful of killing live hostages. But the Palestinians of Hamas, like the Iranian regime who recently dropped out of the nuclear proliferation treaty and declared itself ready to pursue a nuclear weapon with no holds barred, simply don’t understand that they have already lost. The only weapon they have left are their lives, which they are too weak to protect. They will not achieve their goals. They will suffer and die.

It couldn’t happen to a nicer bunch.