On October 13, 2025, the final 20 living hostages taken during the October 7, 2023 terror rampage were brought home — a gut-wrenching, long-awaited moment of relief for families and for a nation that refused to forget its own. This breakthrough did not happen by accident; it followed relentless pressure and hard-nosed diplomacy that put results ahead of hollow platitudes.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took the floor at the Knesset and publicly thanked President Donald Trump for the decisive role he played in brokering the deal, calling the return of the hostages an indescribable joy and inviting the president to address Israel’s parliament. Netanyahu’s gratitude was not mere ceremony — it was recognition that strength, not appeasement, delivered Americans and Israelis what all civilized people demanded: the safe return of their loved ones.
President Trump flew into the region and stood in Israel’s Knesset to declare a new day for the Middle East, receiving a roar of approval from crowds who understood that peace must be won, not wished into being. The scene — with ordinary Israelis openly cheering and even wearing pro-Trump paraphernalia — underlined a simple truth conservatives have long known: allies respect power that is used wisely.
Yes, the deal included uncomfortable tradeoffs: Israel agreed to release thousands of prisoners and efforts were made to repatriate the remains of those who never made it home. Conservative patriots should recognize the moral calculus involved and demand that any concessions be matched by ironclad guarantees that Hamas will be disarmed, demilitarized, and never again able to threaten Israeli or American lives.
Let’s be blunt: this outcome vindicates a foreign policy rooted in clear objectives, muscle, and unapologetic support for our friends, not the reflexive moral equivalence peddled by the left. Washington must double down now — translate diplomatic victories into security guarantees, reconstruction that prevents terror from reemerging, and unblinking accountability for the architects of October 7.
Hardworking Americans and patriots everywhere should celebrate the hostages’ return while staying vigilant. Joy does not mean complacency; the job ahead is to ensure that peace is enforced, that terrorists face justice, and that our leaders keep their word to Israel and to the families who waited through two harrowing years for this day.
