Fourth of July in the Middle East

A Shabbat table situated outside the U.S. Embassy Branch Office in Tel Aviv with photos of the estimated 50 hostages in Gaza seated around it. "One Big Beautiful Hostage Deal" is written on the tablecloth. The display set up less than 24 hours after the passage of the "One Big Beautiful Bill" (Robert Sherman, NewsNation).

Greetings from Tel Aviv,

This will be a slightly abridged edition of Frontlines due to the holiday.

I’ll be honest, spending Independence Day in the Middle East was not my initial plan. I was supposed to be with family in Michigan. That said, I’m glad to be here. Every day it looks more and more like we are on the forefront of history. 

“One Big Beautiful Deal”

The president got what he wanted. Congress delivered his “One Big Beautiful Bill” which is set to be a cornerstone of the president’s agenda.

Here in Israel, people are hoping there’s one more deal in the chamber: One that gets the hostages out.

Outside the U.S. Embassy Branch Office in Tel Aviv is a display today. It’s a Shabbat table with the names and faces of all the hostages still in Gaza. The tablecloth, however, has the words “One Big Beautiful Hostage Deal” written on it. 

There’s also an enlarged image of one of the president’s Truth Social posts. 

Hostage families are hoping a single deal can be struck soon that will get all of the estimated 50 hostages, roughly 20 of which are believed to be alive, home.

Optimism is bolstered, especially after President Trump met with former American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander at the White House Thursday. 

The prime minister is set to travel to Washington, D.C. on Monday to meet with the president at the White House. I’m told by people inside the prime minister’s office that this is viewed as a highly critical trip, and the prime minister is taking this “very seriously.”

This week, he remained insistent Israel will achieve its objectives in the war. “I'm telling you – there will be no Hamas. There will be no 'Hamastan.' We're not going back to that. It's over. We will free all our hostages,” the Prime Minister proclaimed. 

Meanwhile, 35 hostage families have penned a letter to the prime minister, leaving little to the imagination as to what they want.

“Prime minister, you must reach a comprehensive agreement that guarantees the return of every last hostage and brings an end to the fighting.”

There is a feeling on the ground here that a deal has a good shot at coming to fruition, and people are preparing for the possibility of it coming down at any moment — potentially even while the prime minister is in the U.S.

The Day After

One question, however, that still has yet to be answered: Who will control Gaza after the war is over?

The prime minister and the president have both publicly said it cannot and will not be Hamas. But is the group prepared to cut a deal that leads to their exile? To this point, they certainly haven’t given an indication they would.

That’s the gap that needs to be bridged — could Israel stomach a scenario in which a handcuffed Hamas is in control of Gaza? Security guarantees minus the elimination? Hard to say, but that is a key element to all of this to watch.

We expect things could move swiftly in the coming days, and NewsNation will be here for it. 

Thanks to all of you who have written in the last few days. Your words mean so much. You can continue following along on X, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok for all my updates. I can’t even begin to tell you how much I value your support.