And.........Exhale

It's finally done. For now.

Just like watching a pitcher throwing a no-hitter in the 8th inning, I didn’t want to say anything and jinx it — but I’ve been up all night watching the hostage release, and am very happy to report:

According to Channel 12, the International Committee of the Red Cross took custody of the 13 captives from Hamas’ armed wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, and began transferring them to Israel.

Their release completes the handover of all 20 remaining Israeli hostages covered by the current cease-fire deal, following the earlier release of seven others earlier in the day.

The remaining hostages should be handed over to IDF forces at any moment. (Note: I refreshed the live feed and CNN is reporting this just happened.)

President Donald Trump flew to Israel to speak to the Knesset before heading on to Egypt for the formal peace summit. Not sure I’m going to be able to stay awake for this, but the link to the speech is below — it will function as a livestream but should also be available as an archive after the speech is over.

A banner greeting the President in Jerusalem:

One thing I did want to clear up because I saw a LOT of “big” Twitter account “wondering” why all the released hostages are men — insinuating (or outright stating) that all the female hostages were killed. This is not the case. The women and children were released in earlier rounds of negotiations — most in 2023, but a trickle through 2025 as well. What Hamas did was horrific enough without exaggerating their crimes. (And it’s super suspicious when people who SHOULD know this stuff pretend like they don’t.)

All told, though, it’s a good day for news out of the Middle East — that’s certainly a rarity these days.

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It must have caused physical pain for CNN to report this:

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The president’s speech was interrupted by protestors (?) — watch Trump’s reaction: