Yeah, it doesn't seem like anyone's moving out just yet, contrary to all the hopes of finally seeing an end to the killing in that snek pit.

The perpetual rats in that ship - Hamas - have once again gone back to their time-honored move of not playing by terms they agreed to when any deal's been struck with them.

After 16 months of excruciating uncertainty, Idit Ohel finally received word this week that her 24-year-old son, a hostage in Gaza, is still alive.

She said she fainted upon hearing the brutal details of his captivity from freed hostages who had been held with him by Hamas since Oct. 7, 2023. Bound by chains in an underground tunnel, Alon Ohel has subsisted on a piece of bread or less each day.

“He hasn’t seen sunlight in 493 days,” she told reporters on Monday.

As the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas seems increasingly at risk of falling apart — Hamas says it will not free three hostages on Saturday as planned, and Israel says it's ready to resume the war if it doesn't — families of the hostages are struggling to maintain hope. They are pleading with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to give up on the ceasefire framework, and to speed up the timeline of releases if possible.

Now, Hamas feels they're in a pretty strong position, given that they've got an emotional upper hand with these torturous, dribbling releases of their human bait. The savages have proven there are still living, stolen October 7th Jews in their possession - although how they've survived is a mystery in itself. It surely is a testament to those poor folks' tremendous hearts and only more evidence of the barbarism of the enemy.

This is what Hamas is doing to their hostages

And some of them are American

Trump is right - this is barbaric and unacceptable pic.twitter.com/RwE4aXFDXy

— DC_Draino (@DC_Draino) February 10, 2025

Make no mistake - Hamas is the enemy. It's as if Hamas deviants were reenacting Dachau or Auschwitz in their fetid, feral tunnels while Palestinians in Gaza go about their business above them. Many of them were vicious, UN-fed collaborators themselves.

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. pic.twitter.com/z9ws1pEcev

— Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) February 11, 2025

But the agony of families who have waited for almost a year and a half to have survivors suddenly paraded out, three at a time, knowing other loved ones and relatives are still trapped in that Hamas hellhole is overwhelming. And they are frantic that it not be interrupted.

Hamas is counting on that emotional appeal - let it build with these releases and knew precisely when to pull the plug, claiming Israel broke the treaty. So maybe no more hostages, huh?

Lord. They've done it time and again.

Whoever's in charge of the terrorists now - hard to keep track, there's been such attrition - probably smiled when the exact same reaction came as always - families begging Netanyahu not to unleash the dogs, the international community condemning Israel for not bending to Hamas extortion. Yeah, they played the world like a fiddle again, as if it was the very first time.

Only the reaction from the United States was probably a little more aggressive than they were planning on.

But it shouldn't have been a surprise.

BREAKING 🚨: President Trump gives Hamas until Saturday at 12pm to return ALL hostages and says if they are not, the ceasefire is off and will “let hell break out”.

pic.twitter.com/1w0vgaX72m

— Anthony (@AnthonyCabassa_) February 10, 2025

You know they're counting on Trump's simple threat to receive a beating in the media and from overwrought, desperate families. 

They were right.

Useful tools on networks like CNN swung into action yesterday for the terrorist side. Much like the DOGE coverage where there's no mention of what the Musk Rats are actually finding, in the dishonest hack attacks on Trump's statement, there were no mentions that Hamas had declared they were done releasing hostages. 

What incredibly dishonest framing.

Hamas announced they weren’t going to release anymore hostages. That’s what Trump was responding to.

When you’re tacitly defending terrorists to snipe at the orange man, consider you’ve lost the plot, Kaitlan. https://t.co/LTxGBvvVjP

— Bonchie (@bonchieredstate) February 11, 2025

...This comes after several families of the hostages urged him this weekend to blow up the multi-pronged ceasefire agreement and call for all hostages to be released ASAP.

You see, it's Trump's fault for being surly and unhelpful.

...Their worries about the ceasefire collapsing have been exacerbated by President Donald Trump's demand that all of the hostages be freed by Saturday — and his insistence that Gaza be emptied of all Palestinians and redeveloped as a tourist enclave controlled by the United States.

Nothing Hamas did. 'See? Told you,'  said the Hamas spokesman.

...A Hamas official earlier said that Israeli hostages could only be brought home if the ceasefire was respected, dismissing the "language of threats" after Trump said he would "let hell break out" if they were not freed.

"Trump must remember there is an agreement that must be respected by both parties, and this is the only way to bring back the (Israeli) prisoners," senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters.

Saturday was the deal, and Saturday it is, as far as the Israelis are concerned.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared on Tuesday the ceasefire in Gaza would end and the military would resume fighting Hamas until it was defeated if the Palestinian militant group did not release hostages by midday Saturday.

Following Netanyahu's ultimatum, Hamas issued a statement renewing its commitment to the ceasefire and accusing Israel of jeopardizing the ceasefire.

The Israeli announcement came after Netanyahu met with several key ministers, including defence, foreign affairs and national security, who he said gave the ultimatum their full support.

After nearly 16 months of war, Hamas has gradually been releasing hostages since the first phase of a ceasefire began on January 19, but on Monday said it would not free any more until further notice over accusations Israel was violating the deal.

"If Hamas does not return our hostages by Saturday noon - the ceasefire will end and the IDF (military) will return to intense fighting until Hamas is finally defeated," Netanyahu said.

The international press is worried enough that they're fretting because Bibi didn't specify whether he meant all the hostages or if just the three originally agreed to would mollify the Israelis until the next time.

That's all predicated on them having such an opportunity in the near future or, frankly, ever again. Hamas may have out-clevered themselves. 

Appeals from distraught families are being met with steely determination by a new administration in the White House instead of a compliant and incompetent one. The Trump team has no problem sticking to the message and making the message stick.

Hamas breached the deal. They will face harsh consequences if hostages aren’t released Saturday. https://t.co/vuLX09slys

— Barry Tigay (@TigayBarry) February 12, 2025

There isn't a person familiar with Trump who doesn't believe he won't walk the walk.

If Hamas terrorists don’t release the hostages soon, they’re about to find out President Trump means business. pic.twitter.com/GrKZf3XeCR

— Markwayne Mullin (@SenMullin) February 12, 2025

And it's refreshing to, at long last, have a decisive person behind that desk.

Such a novel and refreshing idea for President Trump to refuse to negotiate with Hamas terrorists.

Release the hostages or die.

Really simple terms that even savages can understand.

— Jordan Schachtel @ dossier.today (@JordanSchachtel) February 11, 2025

Someone in the bowels of the Earth, where Hamas hides, seems to have their own doubts about the strategy, as they've told their street creatures to put down their cell phones.

Hamas have ordered its senior leaders in Gaza to stop using mobile phones to hide their locations as they prepare for a restart of fighting in Gaza.

It comes after Israel threatened to resume “intense fighting” if Hamas fail to release hostages by Saturday. The hostage release was postponed by the terror group, who cited Israeli breaches of the ceasefire deal. 

...Sources within the group said they had ordered phones to be switched off to prevent Israel from tracking and assassinating senior commanders.

The decision to implement the phone ban was already planned to coincide with the end of the first phase of the hostage deal but was pulled forward amid fears of resumption of war.

I hope everyone in Gaza checked their beeper batteries.

You know - just in case.