U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito is one of the many leaders in America celebrating the recent ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.
The Israeli government approved a ceasefire in Gaza, which is stage one of President Trump’s plan to end the war that’s been going on for about two years.
“I think this is an incredible breakthrough. Everybody on every side of this in our country knows how meaningful this could be,” Capito said on MetroNews “Talkline.” “Even if you look at it historically, we’ve never been able to get a peace plan between the Palestinians and Israelis at all.”
The war between Hamas and Israel really started just over two years ago when Hamas fired thousands of rockets into Israel and sent armed militants to massacre civilians and take others hostage. The October 7, 2023, left over 1,000 dead, with far more civilian deaths recorded than security force deaths.
Since then, ceasefire deals have been announced and ended, which included Israel launching a surprise attack this March that left 400 Palestinians dead.
According to reports since the latest ceasefire agreement, Trump has said that he expects the nearly 50 Israeli hostages to be released by Hamas early next week in exchange for the roughly 200 Palestinian prisoners that are being held in Israeli prisons. Israeli officials believe 20 of the hostages are still alive.
“To release the hostages dead or alive, that has always been one of Israel’s major points in this, and the president was able to get that agreement from Hamas,” Capito said.
Capito says if both sides adhere to the ceasefire they agreed to, there can be some long-term progress.
“This could be a generational thing. I think back through my entire life, and this has always been a major source of contention everywhere. I’m not naïve enough to think those contentions won’t still smolder, but I think if they can all figure out a way to live in a neighborhood together, it would certainly help everybody and certainly discontinue the destruction and loss of life that we’ve seen,” she said.