Memorials at the site of the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attack on the Supernova music festival near Kibbutz Re’im, Israel, are pictured on May 27, 2024. (Kobi Wolf/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The return of the hostages is painful and joyful for Israelis traumatized by the war. Reuniting these innocent people with their families makes us cry with joy, knowing full well the kind of torment, suffering, torture and abuse they suffer at the hands of the ruthless and merciless Hamas kidnappers. However, it is also a stark reminder of the magnitude of Israel’s failure and the desire to ensure that such an occasion never happens again. Trump’s “hell to pay” was a transparent message not only to Hamas, but also to all rogue actors in the world. It was a manifestation of the new administration’s transparent ethical vision and its ability to distinguish between what is smart and what is bad, a vision that has the possibility of provoking a new episode. long term in this tumultuous and fickle region. A transparent line stretches between this and January 2020, when, under the leadership of then-President Trump, the US military removed Qassem Soleimani, commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force.
Newly released records from the FBI prove that Iran was behind a potential assassination attempt on former President Trump. (Getty Images)
Soleimani, the architect of evil, guilty of the Islamic regime’s “Ring of Fire” doctrine, surrounding Israel with hostile forces, adding Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, and supporting other nefarious terrorist forces, like the Houthis in Yemen. Soleimani’s assassination sent shock waves through the region and into the ranks of the Islamic Republic’s leaders, who vowed revenge on Trump himself and senior officials in his administration.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINIONIn launching the barbaric and ferocious Oct. 7 attack against Israel, Hamas’ leader, Yahya Al-Sinwar, was hoping to see all elements of this “Ring of Fire” converge and attack Israel in a desire to change the Middle East forever. Four hundred sixty-six days into the war, it is clear that the Middle East has changed forever, but in the opposite direction.Iran and its proxies have suffered significant setbacks. Hamas in Gaza has been decimated. The Assad regime in Syria was toppled, and in Lebanon, a new president and prime minister have been elected, both against the will of a much-weakened Hezbollah.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPIsrael is about to go through an excruciating period of seeing our hostages come back from the darkness of Gaza as we eagerly await the rest to return home.Yet, on the horizon, a new future looms: one of “hell to pay” for the Middle East’s rogue actors, enveloped by hope for peace through strength.
Shahar Azani is the former spokesperson for the Israeli Consulate in New York and a veteran Israeli diplomat. He is the executive director of the Book Family Foundation. He worked at the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs for more than years in Jerusalem, London, Los Angeles, Nairobi and New York.
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