Retired Brig. Gen. Blaine Holt told Newsmax on Friday that we should "embrace" the latest round of Hamas hostage releases in the middle of the "sea of darkness" the terrorist organization caused in its war with Israel.
"Let's embrace the bright moments where we can, and these [hostages] get to be reunited with their families," Holt said during "American Agenda." "The love that will pour down on them, the care that will pour down on them, and we will try to learn what we can from them about their time in captivity. But we should embrace these moments for what they really are because we're in a sea of darkness right now. Hamas caused all of this."
CNN is reporting that Hamas released 24 of the more than 240 hostages it took during its deadly attack on Israel Oct. 7, including 10 Thai citizens, 13 Israelis, and one Filipino.
In return, Israel released 39 Palestinian women and teenagers from its jails, the report said.
As many as 50 hostages could be freed during the agreed on four-day pause in fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas in Gaza.
"This morning I've been engaged with my team as we began the first difficult days of implementing this deal," President Joe Biden said Friday. "It's only a start, but so far it's gone well."
Holt said that Hamas received the funding for the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel through Iran, and those dollars came from the United States.
"Hamas was funded by Iran, and unfortunately, Iran got a lot of those resources from right here in our own country," he said. "We are listening to speeches, were listening to finger pointing, we're listening to all kinds of things thrown around [in] these capitals and people taking credit for things, but let's just rally around these folks coming home as we navigate these horrific straits that could go from a country war, to a regional war, to potentially something much greater."
Retired U.S. Army Col. John Mills, who joined Holt on the broadcast, said the key to things right now are the negotiations between Israel and Hamas going on in Qatar.
"The center of gravity for everything that's going on is really the negotiations that are going on in Qatar," Mills said. "Qatar is essentially hosting these meetings."
Mills agreed with Holt that everyone should remain optimistic in the wake of the releases, and, hopefully, the negotiations will lead to more in the coming days.
"Just be happy for the 24 that have been released so far, and we'll see how many more happens before conflict resumes," he said.
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Charles Kim ✉
Charles Kim, a Newsmax general assignment writer, is an award-winning journalist with more than 30 years in reporting on news and politics.
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