A seismic development landed this week when President Trump announced that Israel and Hamas have agreed to the “first phase” of a U.S.-backed Gaza plan — a deal that promises hostage releases, phased Israeli withdrawals, and a halt to the killing that has scarred both peoples. This is the kind of bold, results-driven diplomacy Americans voted for: leverage, pressure, and deal-making that produces tangible outcomes rather than endless talk. After years of Washington dithering, conservative leadership pushed the parties to a concrete step forward, and the world suddenly remembers that peace requires strength, not apologies.
For grieving Israeli families the prospect of their loved ones coming home has produced real, raw relief; for Palestinians battered by war, the promise of aid and openings offers a glimpse of normal life returning to the shattered streets of Gaza. It is right and human to welcome any pause that brings hostages back to their families and delivers desperately needed medicine and food to civilians who have suffered. But let no one mistake temporary celebration for durable security — joy must be coupled with justice and accountability for Hamas’s crimes.
Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders moved quickly to embrace the agreement, and American diplomacy — led by initiatives out of the region and direct pressure from Washington — played a central role in stitching this fragile truce together. Conservatives should acknowledge a victory when we see one: standing with our ally Israel while using American influence to shepherd a deal is how a free nation protects its interests. Still, the government in Jerusalem must insist on verification, safe returns, and the dismantling of Hamas’s terror capabilities before any sense of normalcy is restored.
Let’s be blunt: this breakthrough didn’t come from appeasement. It came from leverage — the kind of firm American posture Donald Trump campaigned on and delivered this week, even boasting that economic and diplomatic pressure helped produce results. If that rankles the left and their media allies, so be it; the priority isn’t their approval, it’s bringing hostages home and protecting Israeli citizens. Washington must now translate applause into tough guarantees so that this “first phase” doesn’t become yet another short-lived pause.
Conservatives who love peace must also love vigilance: Hamas has proven time and again it cannot be trusted, and any agreement that fails to include robust disarmament, monitoring, and consequences will only buy a false peace. The miserable lesson of past cease-fires is that without enforcement, terror groups regroup and rearm — America and Israel must demand inspections, international guarantees, and the authority to respond decisively to violations. There is no moral victory in a paper promise while rockets and tunnels remain.
Now is the moment for patriotic Americans to rally behind real security for our allies and a smart, muscular reconstruction plan that rebuilds lives without rebuilding the infrastructure of terror. Congress should back measures that tie aid and rebuilding to verifiable denazification of militant networks and long-term safeguards for Israeli sovereignty. We can cheer the return of hostages and hope for peace while insisting that liberty, law, and order be the foundation of whatever comes next — because freedom cannot survive on sentiment alone.
