Families of kidnapped Israelis in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square are feeling what Jodie Cohen rightly called “cautious optimism” as a negotiated ceasefire and hostage-release framework appears set to finally return some of the remaining captives to their loved ones. After nearly two years of unbearable waiting and relentless public pressure, the square has shifted from constant mourning to a fragile hope that common sense diplomacy and pressure can bring people home.
This moment should remind Americans which kinds of leadership actually move the needle — the hard-nosed, deal-making diplomacy that secures results rather than virtue-signaling that secures headlines. Conservative voices and outlets on the ground, including Newsmax correspondents, have amplified the raw, human side of these families’ struggle when too many in the mainstream turned away.
Let there be no mistake about what’s at stake: we’re talking about prisoners, the remains of the dead, and the safety of communities that were brutalized on October 7, 2023. Any deal that frees hostages is welcome, but it must be paired with ironclad guarantees that terror groups like Hamas are dismantled and that Western policy doesn’t reward barbarism. Families who have camped outside the IDF headquarters for months deserve answers, not posturing.
Americans who love freedom should reject the sentimentalism that equates negotiation with weakness; the harsh reality is that careful, force-backed diplomacy — the kind conservatives have long advocated — wins hostage returns while keeping pressure on the terrorists. If the deal on the table involves mass prisoner releases, let our leaders ensure there are immediate, verifiable mechanisms to prevent those freed from returning to the battlefield. The safety of Israelis and the credibility of the free world demand nothing less.
So tonight, stand with those families in Hostages Square who have borne the unbearable and still call for action, not platitudes. Pray for the safe return of every captive, hold our politicians to account, and remember that foreign policy rooted in strength and resolve is the only moral policy for a world that refuses to let terror win.
