In the middle of a meeting with independent journalists regarding the situation on the ground in Portland and the rise of Antifa, Secretary of State Marco Rubio came into the meeting and handed over a message to President Trump.

The president did not leave the audience in suspense very long.

… Rubio passed the president a note.

An AP photographer covering the event zoomed in on the handwriting on White House stationery that read, “You need to approve a Truth Social post soon so you can announce deal first.”

“I was just given a note by the secretary of state saying that we’re very close to a deal on the Middle East, and they’re gonna need me pretty quickly,” Trump said. “So we’ll take a couple of more questions.”

Not long after, the promised Truth Social post was released.

The news should be treated with cautious optimism. After all, it is only “the first phase,” so what will it entail? Reportedly, this will mean the release of all the remaining living hostages, per Al Jazeera – which is getting their information directly from Hamas.

A senior Hamas source tells Al-Jazeera that they have agreed to release all the living hostages and postpone the release of deceased hostages “until field conditions are suitable.”

The Hamas source said the meetings between the mediators and the Palestinian delegation ended a…

— Ariel Oseran أريئل أوسيران (@ariel_oseran) October 8, 2025

The full post reads:

A senior Hamas source tells Al-Jazeera that they have agreed to release all the living hostages and postpone the release of deceased hostages “until field conditions are suitable.”

The Hamas source said the meetings between the mediators and the Palestinian delegation ended a short while ago, and the mediators have moved on to meet the Israeli delegation to obtain final answers on the pending issues.

According to the source, the mediators requested that both the Palestinian and Israeli delegations make Friday the final deadline for negotiations.

The mediators confirmed to the Palestinian delegation that if an agreement is reached, President Trump will announce the end of the war, the Hamas source said.

While the release of the living hostages is absolutely critical, Israel and the hostage families will not be satisfied until those who are deceased are returned home for a proper burial. Nevertheless, President Trump was telling families that the hostages would be returned “on Monday.”

🚨🎥President Trump just spoke with the families of the hostages. “The hostages will come back, they’re all coming back on Monday!” pic.twitter.com/yQvJX31Icx

— Neria Kraus (@NeriaKraus) October 9, 2025

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also touted the return of “all the hostages.” But as you can see, Hamas is clearly hedging on the dead. Reportedly, they either don’t know where all the deceased are, or they are no longer in control of the areas where those bodies are located. The deal will also see an exchange of Palestinian prisoners (which prisoners will be released has been a sticking point for Israel) for hostages – allegedly a lopsided 100 prisoners for every living hostage. With an estimated 20 hostages still alive, we’re talking 2000 prisoners. With that kind of incentive, there is deep concern that Hamas is simply going to do this all over again. Hostage taking has proved to be very profitable for them, and if they are given time to rebuild in peace, this entire cycle will inevitably repeat itself. Don’t get me wrong – I want to believe, and President Trump has at least pushed the levers of influence and power to make this moment happen. (Take note, Joe Biden.) But Hamas is not to be trusted.

1) It’s crazy some people pretend Abed, who writes for DropSite, is a “journalist” instead of Hamas media operative.

2) This is good insight into what Hamas is telling people. They have no interest in peace. They want to regroup and rearm.

Prepare accordingly. pic.twitter.com/pE85uM1ubH

— AG (@AGHamilton29) October 9, 2025

There has been an announcement that the deal will be signed today in Egypt, from multiple sources. If that happens, then there will definitely be a countdown for a hostage handoff. There are now reports that President Trump himself will be coming to Israel on Sunday to address the Knesset – officially, the trip is under consideration, according to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.

Meanwhile, where is the “ceasefire” radical left? Strangely quiet.

Rashida Tlaib got her ceasefire and she’s completely silent.

Weird, right? It’s almost as if it was never actually about a ceasefire for her.

— Bonchie (@bonchieredstate) October 9, 2025

Actually, Tlaib was busy retweeting a demand for an… arms embargo against Israel to “end the genocide” HOURS after President Trump announced the peace deal. Did… did no one tell her? Why, it’s almost as if the left just loves the “omnicause” and doesn’t actually care about the people in Gaza! Do they really care about peace, or do they just care about having something to use as a cudgel?

With so many hopes riding on this deal in order to get the living hostages back, let us pray that we will all have cause for rejoicing come Monday.

Featured image: original Victory Girls art by Darleen Click