David Israel
2 Sivan 5785 – May 29, 2025
According to the revised Whittaker plan released Thursday morning, the terrorist group Hamas would release 9 living hostages and 18 bodies, to be returned in two phases over the course of a week. This marks a reduction of one live hostage compared to the previous proposal.
Currently, 58 hostages are believed to be held in Gaza: 20 are confirmed alive, 35 have been declared dead, and three are in critical condition with their status officially unconfirmed.
As you may recall, President Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff announced Wednesday night: “We’re on the precipice of sending out a new term sheet that hopefully will be delivered later today. The president is going to review it. I have some very good feelings about getting to… a temporary ceasefire and a long-term, peaceful resolution of that conflict,”
Just before Witkoff’s remarks, Hamas issued a statement claiming it had agreed to his outline, which included the release of 10 live hostages in two stages. However, Israel swiftly rejected the claim, stating, “This is unacceptable—both to us and to the American administration.”
One has to ask: is anyone verifying these proposals before they’re leaked to the media?
It was also reported that, in exchange for the release of the hostages, Israel would agree to a 60-day ceasefire. During this period, negotiations would take place aimed at ending the war. If no agreement is reached by the end of the 60 days, Israel would have the option to resume military operations or continue negotiations in exchange for the release of more hostages.
Additionally, the distribution of humanitarian aid will revert to the control of the United Nations, rather than being managed by the American company currently operating the distribution centers. This means Hamas would be getting a new lease on life, being able to resume its raids on the UN humanitarian aid facilities, sell the stolen food and medicine on the black market, and fund its recruitment efforts with the profits.
The IDF will withdraw from all the areas captured during Operation Might and Sword, which began on March 17.
Oh, and the number of terrorists with Jewish blood on their hands to be released in the exchange has not yet been disclosed.
This is an atrocious deal, reversing all of Israel’s gains over the past two and a half months of fighting and reviving the fast-declining Hamas.
At this stage, it remains unclear whether the new proposal has been formally presented to the involved parties. In recent days, Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer and Mossad Director Dedi Barnea held discussions with Steve Witkoff regarding the potential ceasefire deal in Gaza. One can only hope the plan will be buried deep beneath the ruins of Gaza where it belongs.
Content retrieved from: https://www.jewishpress.com/news/us-news/witkoffs-offers-major-concessions-to-hamas-leaves-half-the-hostages-behind/2025/05/29/.
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