As the first phase of the Israel-Hamas hostage/ceasefire deal commenced on Monday with the release of three female Israeli hostages, reports from the ground in the Jewish state indicate that the mood is a mixture of joy and apprehension as to what the future will hold for long-term peace.

Romi Gonen (24), Emily Damari (28), and Doron Steinbrecher (31) were reunited with their families after 471 days in captivity and appear to be in relatively good health after being kidnapped by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023. Over 1,200 Israelis were massacred during the attack, with 250 taken hostage. Currently, approximately 97 hostages still remain held in Gaza, with the first phase of the controversial deal reached last week calling for 33 Israeli hostages to be freed over a six-week period. In return, Israel has agreed to release over 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in addition to 600 trucks full of humanitarian supplies per day and other concessions, which critics say will allow Hamas to regroup and continue their campaign of terror against Israel.

Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that after Israeli troops stood down in Gaza following the ceasefire agreement, Hamas sent “thousands of its forces onto the streets to establish control … parading armed and uniformed militants through the streets flashing V-signs to cheering crowds.”

On Monday, Chris Mitchell, Middle East bureau chief for CBN News, joined “Washington Watch with Tony Perkins” to provide an update from the ground in Jerusalem.

“[Israelis are] conflicted because of what’s going on,” he explained. “First of all, the jubilation [is] shared by almost all Israelis that these three young Israeli women … have been reunited with their families. The video of them with their mothers is just heart-wrenching that they are finally back after 471 days in captivity. … The emotion of seeing these families reunited is really profound.”

“On the other hand,” Mitchell continued, “90 Palestinian prisoners have been released the same day. Israelis know that historically, these prisoners have gone on to commit terror attacks. In fact, in 2011, there [were] 1,027 Palestinian prisoners released in exchange for one IDF soldier. … Many of those terrorists went on to commit terror attacks and killed more than 190 Israelis. Famously among those prisoners was Yahya Sinwar, who became the head of Hamas and masterminded the October 7th massacre. So there’s really a conflicted feeling about what’s going on here. Israelis rejoice in the three women that have been released but are sober-minded about what’s anticipated with not only the 90 [terrorists released] today, but [the] nearly 2,000 [that will] eventually [be released over] the course of the next six weeks.”

Mitchell further acknowledged that the pressure that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition government was under by the Trump administration to accept the Hamas hostage/ceasefire deal has threatened the coalition’s integrity.

“[I]t’s actually been shaken by this more than perhaps even the threats against it by the Biden administration,” he observed. “And what has happened is that one of the coalition members, [Itamar] Ben-Gvir, [who] has a religious party in the coalition, [has] left the government. It leaves about 63 seats left in the majority coalition of Benjamin Netanyahu. But another threat is that Bezalel Smotrich, who is the current finance minister, has said that after the first phase, which goes for 42 days, if [after] that Israel doesn’t resume the war, then he would leave. So that puts the Netanyahu coalition government in jeopardy [because] if he would leave, then perhaps the government would fall and there’d be new elections. I would imagine that the Trump administration would rather deal with a Netanyahu government than any of the alternatives on the left side of the political spectrum here in Israel.”

Mitchell went on to note that Hamas is expected to violate the terms of the deal based on past history.

“[Hamas] will continue to wage not only warfare, but a psychological warfare against Israel. For example, they delayed the announcement of the three hostages about an hour and a half, and the expectation is they will continue to try to threaten Israel. … There’s an expectation — historically, it has happened — that they will break the deal. And perhaps Israel can resume the fighting in Gaza and finally finish what had been the goals at the very beginning of the war … to destroy Hamas militarily to make sure that it never is able to govern the Gaza Strip again [and] free all of the hostages.”

Reports indicate that the U.S. would sign off on Israel continuing its war against Hamas if the terrorist group violates the deal. On Tuesday, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich told the Jewish News Syndicate that President Donald Trump and former President Joe Biden “have provided Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with an official missive confirming that ‘the State of Israel will be able to return to the war on day 43’ if talks fail during the 42-day first phase of the agreement.”

Mitchell concluded by urging believers to pray for Israel.

“[P]ray for President Trump to make wise and godly decisions, especially in terms of Israel,” he exhorted. “Pray for Prime Minister Netanyahu to have the fortitude to do what he needs to do to protect the Jewish people. … [T]hey’re going through excruciating emotional turmoil right now, and really psychological warfare by Hamas against them. … People are just perplexed. They’re flummoxed, [asking] ‘How can we manage this deal that is so emotionally wrenching and [while] these threats remain on [the] border?’ And many are concluding, ‘It’s God. We have to look to God here.’”