Hamas Releases Last American Hostage as U.S. Proposes International Stabilization Force for Gaza

Milton Quintanilla

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By Milton Quintanilla, Crosswalk.com

Hamas returned the body of the last remaining American to Israel, who was previously taken hostage in October 2023.

According to CBN News, Hamas returned the body of Staff Sgt. Itay Chen, who was captured in October 2023 when Hamas attacked Israel and confirmed dead in March 2024, returned to Israel on Tuesday.

"We honor his life, mourn his loss, and stand by his family,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote on X.

At least seven hostages are still in Hamas captivity.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration is proposing a U.N. Security Council resolution to establish an International Stabilization Force (ISF).

"Some of the provisions of the 20-point plan do include ISF, and we support that being underpinned by a Security Council mandate, including a Security Council resolution. There are, as you said, talks in New York, including with the UK Mission, and they will continue,” Hamish Falconer, U.K. Minister for the Middle East, stated.

According to the resolution, SF will remain in Gaza for at least two years. President Donald Trump would establish a Board of Peace, which will oversee the ISF.

The demilitarization of the Gaza Strip would have to be supervised by the force, "including the destruction and prevention of rebuilding the military, terror, and offensive infrastructure, as well as the permanent decommissioning of weapons from non-state armed groups,” which includes Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and other terrorist entities in the Gaza Strip.

The ISF will also be required to work alongside Egypt and Israel. The force was reportedly objected by some Arab countries as a "peace-enforcing" agent rather than a "peacekeeping" one, in order to avoid a direct confrontation with Hamas.

Despite the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, the terror group has refused to disarm. Meanwhile, Trump has warned of disarming or even eliminating Hamas if they don’t disarm first.

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Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for CrosswalkHeadlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.