Hillel Fuld: History being made by the minute
Another Hillel Fuld FB post that must be read by all.
As I wrote in the first Hillel Fuld post that I shared here on Substack, when someone else expresses so exactly what you are thinking or feeling, you may just want to bring their words to your readers as is.
Where an explanation might be helpful, I mark it with an asterisk and provide more information below the post.
I am watching the news unfold before my eyes and I can’t write fast enough because by the time I complete a sentence, more history was made.
Trump has doubled down on his ultimatum that if Hamas doesn’t return the hostages by Saturday at noon, all hell will break loose.
He also just announced that there’s a 99% chance that America can work with Egypt on relocating the Gazans.
And as I write this sentence, Trump just stated in regards to the annexation of Judea and Samaria*, “I believe it will work.”
The king of Jordan has responded to the Trump plan to relocate the Gazans by saying “We must wait for Egypt’s strategy for Gaza.” All I hear is “We are no longer dismissing Trump’s idea nor are we ridiculing it.”
Trump also just said that the US will take control of Gaza and run it, but “We won’t buy it.” Not exactly sure what that means.
Reporter to Trump: "Under what authority is the United States going to take over Gaza?"
Trump: "Under U.S. authority"
Man, this guy has a pair…
Meanwhile, Israeli reserves are being called up and Netanyahu has clearly declared, “If Hamas does not return [all] our hostages by noon on Saturday, the ceasefire will end, and the IDF will resume intense fighting until Hamas is decisively defeated.”
Now to be clear, no one wants more war. We want our hostages back and we don’t want more IDF soldiers to pay the ultimate price but we won’t be extorted by Hamas. Those days are over. Joe is no more. There’s a new sheriff in town and he has made it very clear that Hamas will be no more.
He has repeated over and over that if Hamas doesn’t release ALL the hostages by Saturday, all bets are off and Israel will take off the gloves, or should I say handcuffs that were placed on Israel by Biden.
Meanwhile, the Houthis in Yemen kidnapped 8 UN officials.
Antonio Guterres: “I order all UN humanitarian assistance to Yemen to halt immediately.”
So just so we’re clear, Hamas takes 251 Israeli hostages on October 7?
Antonio Guterres: “The collective must not be punished with humanitarian assistance in Gaza.”
But when 8 UN employees are abducted, all funding to Yemen should stop immediately. Just when you thought the UN couldn’t possibly get any more hypocritical.
Back to Gaza. What we have here is a very dangerous game of chicken.
- Hamas suspended the hostage deal.
- Trump declared that all hostages must be freed.
- Israel demands quicker release of phase 2 hostages.
- IDF is calling up reserve forces to Gaza front.
Now, all sides have a few days to talk.
Of course, the families of the hostages are begging Netanyahu to not blow up the deal. I feel for them. I really do. It’s just terrible what they’re going through. They don’t deserve this suffering.
But Netanyahu has to run a country and protect his citizens as hard as that is to relay to those parents. He can’t put 10 million Israelis in danger.
Like I’ve repeatedly said, this deal is both terrible and beautiful simultaneously.
And no one should lecture me about how horrible the deal is. I’ll remind you that my brother’s murderer is being released in the deal. I get it. Trust me.
And here’s some breaking news for ya. King Abdullah, in his meeting with Trump, agreed to accept 2,000 children from Gaza in Jordan.
That’s big. He’s caving.
This also just happened.
Senator Tom Cotton:
“The UN and Democrats preached how starvation was used in Gaza as a weapon of war— yet Hamas radicals look pretty well fed.
Unlike the hostages they released this weekend who were starved and tortured for 491 days.”
It’s amazing how the rhetoric is all changing thanks to Trump.
Things are also heating up the Iranian front.
“Iran warns that any act of aggression will have severe consequences, holding the U.S. fully responsible.”
Of course, we have the tariff war going on between the US, China, and others.
This second, Trump said, "A bully is the weakest person. And Hamas is bullies."
Other than the funny grammar, he is 100% right and again, it’s deeply shocking that the previous administration didn’t have the courage to speak this way*.
More breaking news. [Israeli journalist] Amit Segal just reported: “Senior Israeli official: Prime Minister Netanyahu and the Cabinet are sticking to US President Trump's announcement regarding releasing the hostages. “That is, they will ALL be released on Saturday.”
Listen, if I don’t hit publish now on this post, I’ll never hit publish because the news keeps coming, but I thought I’d update you on the events of the past few hours.
The last time I felt that the world is this explosive was two days before 10/7 and I wrote then; “If you don’t think something huge is about to happen, you’re not paying attention.”
I say the same now.
Literally one stray bullet or wrong word can spark WWIII in seconds. That is assuming, of course, that we are not already in WWIII. If you think about how many countries are involved in this war in one way or another, it sure seems like a world war.
Anyway, Times Square now has the hostages plastered across the billboards. It’s wild to see.
Things are about to escalate and fast unless, miraculously Hamas realizes that they are at the end and if they don’t comply with Trump and Netanyahu’s ultimatum, the end of the road is near. But Hamas aren’t great at accepting defeat, so don’t hold your breath.
Take into account that Israel has been collecting intel throughout the ceasefire. Hamas has already instructed its people to not use any mobile phones.
Oh, look. More breaking news.
President Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, has successfully secured the release of American schoolteacher Marc Fogel from Russian detention.
Witkoff has now departed Russian airspace with Fogel after striking a deal with Moscow.
Well, that is an interesting development.
Ok, that’s it. Hitting publish but by the time you make it this far in the post, there will be about 5 new developments.
It’ll be interesting to see what happens next.
Hamas, your move. Tread carefully.
It is now seven hours since Hillel posted this. Since that time, Israel is preparing for “all Hell to break loose.” Later in the day (it is 4 am as I write this), missile alerts will be tested in Tel Aviv. Leave is postponed for combat troops, reserves are being called up, and some divisions and units on standby for possible mobilization. Egypt is threatening to cancel its peace agreement with Israel. The Houthis are threatening to resume missile launches. Jordan’s king is making nice with Trump. Notice who is not mentioned here.
Annexation of Judea and Samaria: Judea and Samaria — the region Jordan renamed “The West Bank” when it occupied it between 1948 and 1967 — is the heart of the ancient Jewish nation (Jewish=Judean). It was liberated when Jordan joined the attack against Israel in 1967 and, believing that the conflict was over land, for some reason the Israeli leadership, while re-settling the communities Jordan destroyed in 1948, they did not extend Israeli sovereignty to the region, hoping to exchange land for peace at some time when the Arabs would decide to recognize the Jewish state. The proper term is not “annexation,” which means taking over land that is not one’s own, but “extending Israeli sovereignty” over land which is, historically, legally, and by power of the original League of Nations decree, Israeli.
Where Hillel writes: “the previous administration didn’t have the courage to speak this way,” I would have written that the previous administration thought exactly the opposite. It was not a matter of having or not having courage, in my opinion, but, rather, it was about what they wanted to see happen.
Hillel Fuld’s LinkedIn profile describes him as a “Global Speaker, Tech Columnist, and Startup Marketing Advisor | Transforming Startups into Businesses.” For me, he is someone to follow on Facebook and “X.”
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What a great post. Events are occurring at a breathtaking pace. Regret that I was asleep at the switch before 10/7 and missed your post. There's a small group I follow whose views on local Israeli affairs I appreciate most. You are one, along with Bender, Raemer, Neor, and Zatz. My heartfelt condolences for the loss of your brother, compounded the release of his killer. An unconscionable blow upon blow. I appreciate you.
Yes I feel in my bones that we are in the same period as the ‘phony war’ in 1939 that England was in. War declared but not yet raging out of control. I also feel that it can’t be stopped. We are being carried along no matter.