As Tuesday reached the evening hours, despite several tit-for-tat moments, it seemed that the Israel-Iran ceasefire was going to hold, bringing an end to 12 dramatic days when the entire geopolitical landscape of the Middle East changed.
Brokered by US President Donald Trump, with the aid of the Qataris, it has seen Israel and the US together demolish Iran’s nuclear capabilities, eliminate the highest echelons of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, and severely weaken the Islamic Republic regime.
While an incredible and miraculous achievement, it should only be stage 1 of Israel’s grand plan. For almost two years, our country’s army has been bogged down in Gaza in its mission to rid the Palestinian region of Hamas once and for all.
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Over 620 days have now passed since October 7, and with the distractions and stresses of the past two weeks, people could be forgiven for momentarily forgetting there are hostages still held in Gaza.
Israel was extended an invitation by Egypt to send a delegation to Cairo for hostage deal talks, The Jerusalem Post learned on Tuesday, while hostage families at the same time called on Israel to leverage the ceasefire with Iran to bring the hostages home.
What must the Hamas leadership be thinking, watching their ideological bedfellows and military backers fall at every Israeli attack, be it the ease with which the Israel Air Force established dominance over Tehran’s skies or the skilled missions to target the Iranian military leadership?
Hamas's closest allies have all taken a beating
Hamas has watched its closest ally take a beating. Hezbollah is no longer the force it once was. The Houthis have also taken a step back during Israel’s military campaign.Yes, fighting on the ground in Gaza and in the subterranean world Hamas inhabits is not the same as aerial dominance over Iran, but Israel has a chance now to lay its terms on the table and threaten Hamas in the strongest possible terms – not that the past 620 days have been light threats – but words have been backed up by force.
It is also an opportunity to extend the olive branch to other regional members and build on the regional quiet that could have been established over the Middle East.
Saudi Arabia has helped Israel in the past defend against Iranian missiles. There were whispers before October 7 that normalization was on the cards between the Saudis and the Jewish state.
While the past 12 months have seen warmer ties between Riyadh and Tehran, which was worrying for Israel, the Sunni Saudis have had plenty of worries about Shia Iran getting its hands on a nuclear bomb for years.
Now that the threat appears to have minimized, perhaps the Saudis can be persuaded that peace with Israel is the logical step forward for a peaceful region. Syria, too, which is still trying to find its footing in the post-Assad world, could be brought to the negotiating table.
Ali Al-Rifai, a senior official in Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s administration, stated in an interview with KAN News in May that Damascus is committed to regional stability and open to peace with all its neighbors, including Israel.
Donald Trump has proven he is willing to stand up and “walk the walk” in the region when so many of his predecessors seemed content to talk the talk. He has spoken of leaving a Middle East that enjoys peace before his tenure is out, and has spoken of bringing Saudi Arabia and Syria into the Abraham Accords in the past.
The Qataris, who for the first time experienced Iranian missiles over their skies on Monday night, could perhaps be persuaded too. But that is long in the future.
For now, as an Israeli delegation heads to Cairo for talks with Hamas, it must hold Israel’s military achievements of the past two weeks and the disintegration of Iran’s nuclear capabilities over the negotiating table and hammer home the message to Hamas: you have nowhere else to turn to.
