Free Radicals

The remarkable hope for a “historic dawn of a new Middle East” represented by yesterday’s hostage release, prisoner exchange, and ceasefire deal has almost immediately run into some harsh realities on the ground in Gaza. For one thing, though dramatically weakened, Hamas is still Hamas. “On Monday, a video circulating on social media appears to show several masked gunmen, some of them wearing green headbands resembling ones worn by Hamas, shooting with machine guns at least seven men after forcing them to kneel in the street. Posts identify the video as filmed in Gaza on Monday. Civilian spectators cheer ‘Allah Akbar,’ or God is Great, and call those killed ‘collaborators.'” Hamas said to kill over 30 Gazans as terror group moves to reassert its grip on Strip.

+ Reuters: Gaza ceasefire outlook darkens as Israel delays aid and Hamas tightens grip. “Israel delayed aid into Gaza and kept the enclave’s border shut on Tuesday, while re-emergent Hamas fighters demonstrated their grip by executing men in the street, darkening the outlook for U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war.”