Memorials at the site of Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror attack on the Supernova music festival near Kibbutz Re’im, Israel, appear on May 27, 2024 (Kobi Wolf/Bloomberg Getty Images).

The return of the hostages is painful and joyful for Israelis traumatized by the war. Reuniting those innocent people with their families brings tears of joy, knowing well the kind of torment, suffering, torture, and abuse they are experiencing at the hands of Hamas’s ruthless and ruthless captors. But it’s also a stark reminder of the scale of Israel’s failure and the desire to make sure that something like this never happens again. Trump’s “hell to pay” was a transparent message not only to Hamas, but also to all the world’s rogue actors. It was a manifestation of the new administration’s transparent ethical vision and its ability to distinguish right from wrong, a vision that has the potential to provoke a new long-term episode in this tumultuous and fickle region. A transparent line stretches between that and January 2020, when, under the leadership of then-President Trump, the U. S. military ousted Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.  

Newly released FBI documents reveal that Iran was a possible assassination attempt opposed to former President Trump.   (Getty images)

Soleimani was the architect of evil, responsible for the Islamic Regime’s “Ring of Fire” doctrine, surrounding Israel with hostile forces including Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, as well as supporting other nefarious terrorist forces, such as the Houthis in Yemen. The assassination of Soleimani sent shock waves through the region and the ranks of the Islamic Republic’s leadership, which promised revenge against 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 APP Israel is about to go through an excruciating era in which we watch our hostages return from the darkness of Gaza while we anxiously await the return of others. However, a new future looms on the horizon: one in which rogue actors in the Middle East will have to pay hell, wrapped in the hope of peace through force.

Shahar Azani is the former spokesperson of Israel’s Consulate in New York and a veteran Israeli diplomat. He is the CEO of the Book Family Foundation. He served in Israel’s Foreign Ministry for over 16 years in Jerusalem, London, Los Angeles, Nairobi and New York. 

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