On this, the sixth day of Chanukah, I want to begin with a story about light.
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There is a square in a prominent location in Gaza City that was called Palestine Square. The headquarters of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was located on that square and tunnels ran beneath. Some of the hostages were paraded there in October.
Last week, the IDF captured the square:
Then on Thursday, the first day of Chanukah, IDF soldiers brought a giant chanukiah to the hilltop there and lit it. Play close attention to the words of the commanding officer in the video below. The light of the chanukiah, he says, is a light of purity, a light of hope and peace.
Light brought by our people to dispel the darkness of Gaza.
What makes it all the more remarkable is that the lighting was done by four commanders who had been wounded and chose to return to battle.
I cried for the beauty of these soldiers and what they are doing. And for the hope they bring with them. How special we are!!
Click on the picture to see the video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkF3UMpr2fY
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While the war to demolish Hamas is certainly not over yet, we are making significant and encouraging headway: The light emerges.
Fierce battles rage, in the north, and in Khan Younis in the south. And something amazing is happening: some of the Hamas fighters are surrendering. They number in the hundreds.
There are multiple pictures such as this one showing up in the media. The fighters are required to remove their clothes to be certain that they are not hiding explosives.
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These mass surrenders are important for two reasons.
Most significantly, as Chief of Staff Lt. Gen Herzl Halevi said this Saturday evening: “…in recent days, we are seeing terrorists surrendering. This is a sign of the breakdown of the system, a sign that we need to apply more pressure.”
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant reports that six battalions in the north are near collapse.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog-december-11-2023/
“We have encircled the last strongholds of Hamas in Jabaliya and Shejaiya, the battalions that were considered invincible, that prepared for years to fight us, are on the verge of being dismantled.”
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What these Hamas fighters see is that there is a disconnect between the leadership of Hamas and themselves. Yahya Sinwar and his associates are concerned with their own skin and not much more, and the troops are growing weary (resentful) of this situation. They should die so that Sinwar can be safe?
Yesterday, Prime Minister Netanyahu said (emphasis added):
“It will take more time, the war is still in full force, but this is the beginning of the end of Hamas. I say to the terrorists of Hamas: It’s over. Don’t die for Sinwar. Surrender now.”
Seems the prospect of those 70 virgins in heaven is not so appealing after all.
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A slightly different take on why Hamas fighters are surrendering:
The IDF is “identifying changes in Hamas leadership’s conduct.” Hamas’s senior leaders…”prefer their personal survival over the survival of Hamas’s command and control operations.” Without leadership or guidance, the fighters see no choice but to surrender.
This is even more significant with regard to signaling a breakdown in the Hamas operating system.
https://www.jpost.com/arab-israeli-conflict/article-777401
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The surrender of these Hamas fighters also provides the IDF with an opportunity to do extensive interrogation. We have secured a good deal of valuable intelligence, regarding the location of hostages, the layout of tunnels, and the whereabouts of Sinwar.
IDF intelligence now places Sinwar in hiding underground in the major terrorist stronghold of Khan Younis in the south, where battles are currently under way. He escaped from Gaza City early in the war, fleeing with a humanitarian convoy to the south in a vehicle that provided “cover.”
Sinwar is considered by Israel to be a “dead man walking.” We are determined to get him: He is a personification of evil.
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Distress has been registered by the UN and by the US State Department about the pictures that have emerged of those Hamas members who have surrendered. The State Department has queried about why they are in their underwear. I suspect that there is a failure to understand that there is a history of Palestinian Arab terrorists who, after being arrested, whip out a weapon hidden in their clothing.
The UN was concerned with the “dignity” of the captives. Excuse me? Gallant says that some of those who surrendered were involved in the October 7 massacre. We should worry about their dignity?
But that’s the UN. There is going to be a resolution in the General Assembly calling for an immediate ceasefire (which would prevent us from taking out Hamas). But GA resolutions are not binding.
Yesterday, spokesman for the prime minister’s office, Eylon Levy, said: “I don’t think any U.N. secretary-general in history has gone so far to secure the survival of a terrorist organization.”
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Yesterday (Monday), the Knesset established a subcommittee that will work on creating a legal framework for the prosecution of Hamas terrorists who participated in the October 7 massacre.
It will be chaired by Simcha Rothman (RZ), Chair of the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee.
“Time and again, we have encountered the huge gap that exists in the ability of the criminal law in Israel and abroad to cope with terrorist attacks,” he said. “When dealing with terrorism, we have to rethink almost all the basic assumptions.”
Because of the sensitivity of the issues, the subcommittee will meet behind closed doors.
https://www.jns.org/knesset-advances-discussions-on-oct-7-tribunal/
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In the face of continuing international pressure, our government is holding strong – insisting that we will continue until the job is done.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Netanyahu related at the Cabinet meeting what he had told the leaders of France, Germany and other countries:
“You cannot on the one hand support the elimination of Hamas and on other pressure us to end the war, which would prevent the elimination of Hamas.“
Estimates as to how much longer the war will take vary. A month, two months, until spring? What seems to be the case is that the major fighting will likely end in a couple of months, but that intensive mop-up work will still need to be done. And then, we will insist on a presence, at a minimum to guarantee Israel’s security.
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It becomes clear that our willingness to allow humanitarian relief into Gaza at a level we originally said we would not permit may indeed be in order. For if there is a major humanitarian crisis in Gaza, the world will turn on us far more forcefully. (More on this following.)
The US has continued to be supportive of our war efforts, and for this we must be grateful. At a Chanukah reception at the White House last night, Biden said:
“We continue to provide military assistance until they get rid of Hamas, but we have to be careful. The whole world, public opinion can shift overnight. We can’t let that happen.”
Today Netanyahu said this in a video statement (emphasis added):
“I greatly appreciate the American support for destroying Hamas and returning our hostages.
“Following an intensive dialogue with President Biden and his team, we received full backing for the ground incursion and blocking the international pressure to stop the war.”
https://www.jns.org/netanyahu-israel-has-white-houses-full-backing-despite-disputes/
We can safely assume that Israel’s agreement on humanitarian aid was a part of that intensive dialogue.
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Where we are countering Biden is with regard to his notion that the PA should take over Gaza. Israel has no intention of permitting this.
Prime Minister Netanyahu addressed this issue in a meeting of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Security Committee:
“Oslo was the mother of all sins. The difference between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority is only that Hamas wants to destroy us here and now, and the P.A. wants to do it in stages.”
He is promoting the idea of our controlling the Philadelphia Corridor—the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt—and the establishment of a buffer zone within the Gaza Strip.
Reconstruction of Gaza would be done by Abraham Accords nations and the Saudis.
https://www.jns.org/netanyahu-makes-it-clear-post-war-pa-wont-gain-control-of-gaza-strip/
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Recently PA Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayye declared that Hamas is “an integral part of the Palestinian mosaic.” He hopes that Hamas would participate with the PA in governing Gaza. Incredible!
To this, Netanyahu replied: “There will not be a Hamas, we will eliminate it. The fact that this is the Palestinian Authority’s proposal only strengthens my policy: The Palestinian Authority is not the solution.”
How blind can the Americans be?
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There is movement within Israel to re-establish Gush Katif and several alternatives are under discussion.
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The war we are fighting in Gaza brings with it pain, and tears. As I write, 111 of our precious soldiers have died in battle since the ground troops went into Gaza. That’s not counting the wounded, and all those IDF soldiers – some 350 plus – who died fighting on October 7.
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And there are the hostages – I believe the number is 135 now – whom we have not yet been able to rescue; although it is estimated that 20 of those hostages have been killed. Painful, painful to contemplate their situation. There is particular concern for the women still held. They were supposed to come out on the last exchange, but Hamas reneged. (It is thought that the women weren’t released because Hamas did not want them to describe how they had been sexually abused.)
An attempt was made to rescue at least some of the hostages late last week, but the effort failed. Two bodies of hostages have been recovered: Eden Zakaria, taken from the music festival, and Sergeant Ziv Dado of the Golani Brigades who fell in battle.
Additional attempts will be made. Defense Minister Gallant has indicated that as the noose tightens around Hamas, there may be deals offered – deals that we will consider. In fact, there are rumors of a possible deal in the works, but nothing concrete as of this writing.
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We must note, as well, the suffering of the survivors of the massacre: people who were wounded, or lost family members, and are severely traumatized.
There are stories that I want to tell as time allows. Stories of suffering and amazing courage.
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In the end, the light will prevail. And we will succeed as did the Maccabees.
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Keep praying to Heaven for Israel, my friends. Pray for the strength and wisdom of our leaders, for the safety of our boys, and for the rescue of our hostages. Pray with a heart filled with hope.
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© Arlene Kushner. This material is produced by independent journalist Arlene Kushner. Permission is granted for it to be reproduced only with proper attribution.
