Peace in the Middle East

Hostage Deal, Al Jazeera, Poll, Oval Office, Intern, Leaders: The Weekly Conquest Week of 10.5.25 – 10.11.25

Welcome to the ZioKnight

Week of October 5, 2025

I had extra devotion in my Shabbat prayer blessing the U.S. government this week because President Trump mediated a hostage release and ceasefire deal. In the coming days, the remaining 48 hostages will be freed, the fighting will stop, and aid will flood into the Gaza Strip. The two years of devastation are over: peace is on the horizon. And the news coming out on my birthday was the best gift I could have received.

Sunday 10.5

Soon after President Trump signed an executive order giving a security guarantee to Qatar, their state-owned news outlet, Al Jazeera, dampened its critical coverage of Israel. Pundits suggest that the editorial shift was linked to the executive order in negotiations. [1]

Monday 10.6

A Harvard Harris Poll conducted in early October found that 70% of U.S. voters would support a Gaza peace plan if all Arab countries signed on. The other 30% are hard to please. [2]

Tuesday 10.7

To commemorate the October 7th massacre’s second anniversary, President Trump hosted former hostage Edan Alexander in the Oval Office. The news was quickly overshadowed by another fortuitous development from the office. [3]

Wednesday 10.8

My pride in having interned for Congressmen Gottheimer and Hoyer redoubled after they held a joint press conference emphasizing Hamas’s blame for the war and criticizing Israel’s detractors. [4]

Thursday 10.9

The Democratic and Republican leaders of the House and Senate came out strongly supportive of Trump’s peace plan. [5][6][7][8]

Friday 10.10

The ceasefire began, and the IDF moved out of the agreed-upon territories. Israeli hospitals are preparing to take in the 20 living hostages. [9]

Saturday 10.11

Reports state that the hostages will be returned on Monday in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. [10][11]