The Week Magazine October 24, 2025

Is it any surprise that with no more Israeli hostages in hand, Hamas has turned to a campaign of murdering and abusing Gazans? Not if you’ve been following the last two years of history. Finally faced with an ultimatum of releasing its hostages or losing its last patrons, Hamas acquiesced to freeing its captives—and, true to form, immediately seemed to be trying to wriggle out of the rest of the deal. Watching what is happening on the ground in Gaza now, it seems evident that Hamas believes it will find a way to stay in power. If it succeeds, that will be a prescription for a repeat of Oct. 7, 2023. Initially, perhaps, the Israeli captives in its tunnels and dungeons might have seemed to Hamas like bargaining chips it…

What happened A triumphant President Trump this week celebrated a hard-won ceasefire in Gaza that secured the release of all remaining hostages held by Hamas, even as doubts remained that peace between Israel and the Palestinian terrorist group would last. In Tel Aviv, more than 100,000 people crowded into Hostage Square to watch a telecast of the arrival of the last 20 of the 251 people Hamas kidnapped on Oct. 7, 2023. Those released included Evyatar David, 24, forced to dig his own grave for Hamas propaganda, and Avinatan Or, 32, whose girlfriend, hostage Noa Argamani, was rescued by Israeli soldiers last year. “At last,” Argamani said, “we can begin our healing together.” In the West Bank and Gaza, Palestinian families welcomed the return of nearly 2,000 detainees, including five…

“Hamas may play along” for now, said Matthew Levitt in Foreign Affairs, but it is “not done fighting.” It is executing its rivals in Gaza—a campaign Trump greenlit by saying Hamas had to take out “a couple of gangs that were very bad.” It’s not clear when or how it will disarm, and even if it does, it has contingency plans, with Iran reportedly stockpiling weapons in Sudan to ship to it later. The Israelis, though, won’t agree to full withdrawal until Hamas is fully disarmed, said James C. Reynolds in The Independent (U.K.). And Israeli withdrawal from the 53% of the enclave it occupies is “necessary for a comprehensive rebuilding operation.” Under Trump’s plan, an international body will eventually take over to govern Gaza, overseeing Palestinian technocrats—many from the…

What happened A federal judge this week temporarily blocked the Trump administration from conducting mass layoffs of federal workers during the government shutdown, scuttling an administration plan to pressure Democrats into ending the now three-week-old standoff. Workers at the departments of Energy, Homeland Security, Treasury, and Health were among those to receive layoff notices, with White House budget director Russell Vought saying that “north of 10,000” federal jobs could be eliminated during the shutdown. The administration sent notices to 1,300 workers at the Centers for Disease Control—including analysts who monitor biological and chemical threats to the U.S.—then a day later scrambled to reverse more than half the firings, saying they were issued in error. At the Education Department, almost all employees in an office overseeing special education for 7.5 million…

■ At the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., each October brings the Blessing of the Animals, consecrated on the cathedral’s steps with barks and meows. To honor Saint Francis, the patron saint of animals, pet owners bring their dogs, cats, bunnies, parrots—and even a tarantula—to receive a prayer and be sprinkled with holy water. Lee Pearson brought her dog Lucy, a 14-year-old with kidney disease, hoping a blessing would help her pet. Pearson said she isn’t religious—but “maybe Lucy is.” ■ Arjun Malaviya is only 19 but he’s already visited 118 different countries in pursuit of the Guinness World Record for being the youngest person to visit every nation. Malaviya decided he wanted to explore the world after enduring Covid lockdown as a teen. He launched his tour in South…

President Trump’s self-declared war on “the enemy within” keeps running into the same problem, said David Ignatius in The Washington Post: the enemy’s stubborn refusal to exist. Federal Judge April Perry last week issued a temporary restraining order blocking Trump’s deployment of federalized National Guard troops to Chicago, ruling that his claims of widespread rioting and “rebellion” were “unreliable,” and “cannot be aligned” with facts on the ground. That echoed a ruling made days earlier by Judge Karin Immergut, a Trump appointee who blocked the president from sending guards to Portland, Ore., calling his depictions of a “war-ravaged” city “simply untethered to the facts.” While there have been daily protests outside an ICE facility in downtown Portland, the rallies have been overwhelmingly peaceful, with many demonstrators wearing inflatable animal costumes.…