Darrell talks about the peace agreement or ceasefire orchestrated by President Trump to end the slaughter in Gaza and return the hostages to their families.

Transcription / Notes

DAY OF REJOICING

Hello, this is Darrell Castle with today’s Castle Report. This is Friday the 17th day of October in the year of our Lord 2025. I will be talking about the peace agreement or ceasefire if you prefer, orchestrated by President Trump to end the slaughter in Gaza and return the hostages to their families.

Yes, it was a glorious day anticipated for two years and on the day they arrived 65,000 people gathered in Hostage Square to welcome them home. Many did not survive but for those who did it was indeed an emotional and glorious day. Imagine the joy of seeing your loved one who survived two years of captivity underground in the tunnels of Gaza. For two years you didn’t know whether he was alive or dead and what suffering he might be enduring.

The peace might not hold and it might be just a temporary pause in the slaughter but the hostages are home and for that moment it was glorious. Everybody around the world celebrated and called Donald Trump a hero. When Trump spoke to the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament, one of the speakers referred to him as a giant of Jewish history. Everybody celebrated except of course the ceasefire protestors in America. It seems that what they had been screaming about for two years was somehow not enough. I suspect that they see their only policy which is, Trump is bad, slipping away. If they had no policy at all that would be good because the more policies your politicians have the poorer you are. No policy is usually the best policy. 

Can’t you just let yourself be happy for one moment because these hostages are free. For more that 730 days since October 7, 2023, when Hamas kidnapped about 250 people from Israel, they endured a terrible ordeal, and finally about 20 of them were released. In total, 120 made it home alive and 130 did not survive the ordeal. The scene of their return reminded me of the films about when the survivors of the Holocaust stepped off the trains and entered freedom.

These dates the dates of the start of the war and the end, carry significance in the Jewish calendar but I don’t pretend to understand it, and I wonder if Hamas understands it. For the hostages after years of captivity, starvation, physical abuse, and torture, hidden away in oxygen deprived tunnels their conditions reminiscent of those described by the Psalmist in Psalm 107: 10-14.

 “Some sat in darkness, in utter darkness, prisoners suffering in iron chains, because they rebelled against God’s commands and despised the plans of the Most High. So, he subjected them to bitter labor; they stumbled and there was no one to help. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. He brought them out of darkness, the utter darkness, and he broke away their chains.”

So, there is or was peace if only for a moment but it was a sweet smell at last. How did it happen when so many had tried but no one had succeeded at this level. I can see several differences between Trump’s approach and all the others, but let’s let Victor Davis Hanson speak about it for a moment. I’m paraphrasing him but for one thing, Trump approaches negotiations from a position of strength rather than weakness. Remember the one hostage who said than when Trump was elected they started treating them better. No more spitting on them and forcing them to dig their own graves because they were obviously afraid of him. Trump was very successful in cutting off the money supply to Hamas and the other Iranian proxy terrorist armies. His sanctions on Iranian oil were squeezing the country’s ability to make war and supply the proxy armies.

His attack on the Iranian nuclear enrichment sites destroyed or at least set back the Iranian efforts at building a nuclear weapon and that took away the threat that Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders had screamed about for 46 years. He supplied Israel with the weapons and the permission to attack and destroy the three Iranian proxy armies. Hamas, The Houthis, and Hezbollah, were all reduced to ineffectiveness by the relentless Israeli attacks. The American attack on Iran demonstrated a military capability that was so incredible that people on both sides had to take notice.

Israel destroyed Iran’s antiair capability and embarrassed that nation before the world which respects and understands only strength. He was clever enough to notice that there is no great Arab or Palestinian leader such as Arafat to always hamstring negotiations. Instead, he assembled a coalition of Arab countries to act for the Arab/Palestinian cause. Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, primarily Qatar. These countries all have the ability, the money, and the manpower to rebuild Gaza. Mr. Hanson makes sense and gives a little clarity to something very unclear but here are some of my own observations.

Trump’s approach, unclear to me and I guess to both sides came to the forefront when it had to. You can say many things about that man but if you are honest you have to admit that he is quite a negotiator and like a good trial lawyer he knows that negotiations have to be set up in advance and strength has to be demonstrated in order to achieve success.  For his entire time in office, he has been building the appearance of a very strong country, second to none. He sent Hegseth to publicly admonish the general officer corps and let the world know that he expected a warrior class to lead in the military.

He used the carrot and stick approach in dealing with friend and foe alike. Who knows what passed in private conversations with Netanyahu and I have been very critical of his seeming control of Trump which he publicly bragged about. When Netanyahu attacked Qatar, an American ally with American weapons he was infuriated and humiliated and he didn’t just let it pass. Bibi had to call from the oval office and say he regretted the decision. He calmed the fears of the Qataris by forming a mutual defense agreement with Qatar pledging American support if they were attacked. He wouldn’t have had to do that if Bibi was a little more rational.

When the Saudis expressed apprehension about Israel’s nuclear weapons and apparently told him that every country in the Middle East was being held hostage by Israeli nukes and Bibi’s irrationality he took action to calm them. He arranged, with American blessing, a deal between the Saudis and Pakistan, a nuclear armed country, in which they pledged to come to each other’s aid if attacked.

 Perhaps most importantly he doesn’t seem to hold grudges and doesn’t want to “bring democracy” to countries which have never had it and don’t want it. He respects their culture and traditions and treats them accordingly. When he attacked Iran’s nuclear sites he said he now wants to make Iran great again. He holds out the carrot by offering a way for the nations of the Middle East to have prosperity if they have peace, and he tries to convince them to put aside thousands of years of generational hatred for prosperity which comes through peace, not war.

The leaders of Middle East countries, because of the actions and attitudes I just mentioned, now see America differently. Whether completely true or not America is the global leader in AI, robotics, crypto and other next generation technologies and therefore, America and its chief executive need to be accommodated. To wrap up this section on how he did it, he left them with no alternative. There is no alternative to the bombed out starving rubble that is Gaza. There are a lot of crazy people over there but apparently enough sane ones to make some difference.

This peace may be only temporary or perhaps it will require more war to enforce it, but for that one day at least, there was rejoicing. Both sides appeared to violate the agreement as soon as it was signed. Israeli forces killed five Palestinians who approached their lines after signing. The Palestinians were told not to approach military positions but it is unclear whether these five were Hamas fighters or just starving Palestinians. The agreement requires Hamas to disarm and stop fighting. It does not permit Hamas to occupy and run Gaza.

Somehow in all the rubble the Hamas units found new uniforms which look clean and in good military grade condition. They, at this point, have asserted control where Israeli units have pulled back. They have rounded up people said to have collaborated with the Israelis and publicly executed them by shooting them in the back of the head while being forced to kneel. The scene reminded me of all those black and white videos of the Nazis doing the same thing to Jews. Hamas, despite agreeing to disarm, seems to think it can reassert control over Gaza and continue stealing U.N. aid and charging starving people for food, but Trump says if that is what they think then they have another think coming.

Journalists in Gaza report that Hamas is moving rapidly to reassert control. Hamas has brought upon the people of Gaza nothing but brutality and death but once again they respect only strength and brute power. According to Reuters they have killed more than 30 people in battles with rival forces after signing. I guess there is more than one group which would like to have control of the rubble and the world aid coming in. The public executions of supposed collaborators is an obvious attempt to terrorize already terrorized civilians.

Trump was not amused by Hamas’ refusal to abide by the agreement they signed or at least a spokesman signed for them. “Well, they’re going to disarm because they said they were going to disarm, and if they don’t disarm, we will disarm them. I don’t have to explain that to you, but if they don’t disarm, we will disarm them. They know I’m not playing games. OK.”

He went on to say that he spoke to Hamas and said you’re going to disarm right. They said yes sir we are going to disarm, that’s what they told me so they will disarm or we will disarm them. Got it.

It’s just as hard to predict how the war hawks here in America will react to peace as it is Hamas. There appears to be nothing a good war hawk hates more than peace. Chief war hawk Lindsey Graham said that Israel is planning another invasion of Gaza.

Finally, Folks, to that I say that Israel is still a sovereign country but if it does anything to foul this peace deal so painstakingly built it will do it without American tax dollars, American equipment, and American support, at least I hope so, anyway.

At least that’s the way I see it,

Until next time folks,

This is Darrell Castle,

Thanks for listening.