Author: David Leibermann

Their names, faces and stories have resonated around the world, on posters and in prayers, since they were taken hostage on Oct. 7, 2023. Now, some of the 98 remaining hostages abducted that day, when Hamas invaded southern Israel, could soon be free. Under the terms of a ceasefire deal nearing final approval on Friday, […]

Oct. 18, 2011, was a landmark day in Israeli history. Five years after he was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists, the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit was released from captivity in Gaza and photographed in uniform saluting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in what felt like an iconic moment and a sign of the success of a committed […]

Facing opposition from some of his allies, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has delayed a planned Cabinet meeting to approve a ceasefire and hostage release deal with Hamas. Netanyahu said in a statement that Hamas was reneging on parts of the deal announced Wednesday and confirmed by outgoing President Joe Biden, incoming President Donald Trump […]

The pundit on Israel’s right-wing news channel was visibly anxious. One American president, said Yuval Malka, presented a “window of opportunity” for Israel to have free rein across the Middle East. But the other, he cautioned, was fickle, appearing to love Israel but liable to leave it in the lurch and constrain its military might. […]

For Kfir Bibas’ first birthday last year, supporters around the world gathered to wish for his return to Israel from captivity in Gaza. On this coming Saturday, his second birthday, that wish may be close to coming true. Kfir, taken hostage with his brother and mother, was the youngest child abducted by Hamas on Oct. […]

This is a developing story.  Israel and Hamas have agreed to a deal that will cease more than a year of fighting in Gaza and Israel, bring dozens of Israeli hostages home and release hundreds of Palestinian security prisoners. The agreement was confirmed by multiple parties to the negotiation on Wednesday. If it holds, it […]

After the hostages return to Israel, peace takes hold in the Middle East. Army recruitment offices are shuttered; Israelis shelve the second passports that let them live abroad; and trains run uninterrupted from Egypt to Syria. Soon, Israeli and Iranian judokas embrace, and Israel advances in the World Cup. Ultimately, Taylor Swift takes the stage […]

If the past year has taught us anything, it’s that banking on a hostage deal is a bad idea.  But those odds seem to be changing.  Since November 2023, when Hamas released more than 100 of its captives during a weeklong ceasefire, a predictable cycle has taken hold: Israel and Hamas negotiate, with the United […]