Since October 7, when members of Hamas (and with them “civilians” of Gaza) perpetrated a massacre of unimaginable dimensions upon the people of Israel, I have been focusing my posts on the war with that terror group. For the most part, that focus is not likely to change in the near future, for the war carries with it an existential urgency and an immediacy that demands our careful attention.
In the course of my writing, I have referred many times to the complexity of the situation, and neither has that changed. To some major degree this is because of world politics, which have engendered a broad scale hostility to Israel that is also inconceivable for us here.
That hostility is not universal, of course, and I celebrate our friends. A number of people of celebrity status have come to lend support, and to be witnesses to the atrocities in the kibbutzim near Gaza: Gov. Mike Huckabee (pictured), Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, Jerry Seinfeld, etc.
“You either stand with Israel or you stand for hate,” said Huckabee.
Ah, that more would hear this. The notion of Israel as the “oppressor” and Hamas as the “oppressed,” and thus justified in committing atrocities, has gained traction (especially but not exclusively among the younger generation). See this:
We are facing a world that has lost its moral bearings, and we know in many respects we stand alone.
So confused are perceptions among progressives, and others leaning left, that they refuse to grasp the reality: Hamas is consummate evil and thus must be destroyed. Its leaders have openly vowed to do again what was done on October 7, given the opportunity.
Hamas blatantly uses civilians as human shields, while Israel, which has the most moral army in the world, is held accountable for the damage that is done to those civilians. All of this is part of our very complex struggle, as is the issue of the hostages – including women and children — that Hamas holds in horrendous conditions, and in defiance of international law.
~~~~~~~~~~
In this post, I want to touch on the progress of the war and then reach beyond this to consider some related and important issues.
By the end of last week, there were encouraging signs that we were making significant gains in the war. It was obvious that Hamas was running scared. For the first time, their demand in negotiations for release of hostages was a total cessation of fightingHHHhdd and not a ceasefire of short duration. This, of course, we will not agree to and as I write there is no solid proposal on the table.
(Egypt yesterday put out a proposal for a hostage deal that is absolutely not one that Israel would accept, involving as it does a cessation of the war. And today Yahya Sinwar put out a defiant message rejecting it.)
~~~~~~~~~~
One recent report after another has indicated significant IDF gains. On Saturday night, IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari announced that the IDF over the weekend expanded ground operations in the southern and northern parts of the Gaza Strip:
“Our forces are engaging in complex combat as they enter new Hamas strongholds…in densely populated areas…
“Many terrorists surrender during this operation. We detain and interrogate them, obtaining valuable intelligence about additional targets. Through this intelligence, we adjust our ground operations and achieve better results.”
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/382423
~~~~~~~~~~
Analyst Yoni Ben Menachem concurs with the assessment that Hamas is running scared (emphasis added):
“For the first time in its existence, the Hamas movement finds itself confronted with a tangible military threat from Israel aimed at toppling its rule in the Gaza Strip. Despite Hamas’s claims of eventual victory, the key to success lies in the hands of the IDF, with any advances in the conflict weakening the movement’s stronghold.”
~~~~~~~~~~
This was all very encouraging news. Add to it the fact that the UN Security Council resolution on Gaza, which was worded in accordance with US demands, was a tepid affair:
The US had abstained rather than veto it.
~~~~~~~~~~
Additionally, Yahya Sinwar’s home in the south of Gaza was destroyed and intelligence had him hiding in the tunnels in the south; it was considered only a matter of time until he was found.
And there was news that some reserve soldiers from the north were being released, indicating that their work was completed.
~~~~~~~~~~
Sunday, however, was a painful day, as it was announced that over the weekend 10 of our soldiers had been killed in battle. Ten?
Two more have fallen in battle since, so that the total to have been killed since we entered Gaza is close to 160.
~~~~~~~~~~
Our nation, taking no death lightly, agonized over this. Why so many? Is it, as spokesman Hagari has suggested, because we are in the midst of very intense and important battles that inevitably take a heavy toll on our troops?
Or because we are not doing enough bombing from the air first, as others have charged? The response to this is that in some situations ground troops must do the work and bombing is not possible.
Or because we are permitting in too much humanitarian aid, which ends up in the hands of Hamas?
At the Sunday Cabinet meeting, Minister Itamar Ben Gvir (Otzma Yehudit) expressed concern in particular about the “humanitarian” fuel that Hamas acquires. Without the fuel, Hamas would fail more quickly.
Economy Minister Barkat (Likud), who said “We are too considerate of them [the ‘civilians’]; we are too nice,” is undoubtedly correct.
But Netanyahu’s response was candid:
“…what we bring in allows us to continue fighting. There are countries that we must consider. And if we don’t consider them, the UN will ultimately decide to put a blockade on us. In addition, if you don’t send food, there could be a mass epidemic and famine, and the whole world will be against us – this gives us more time to fight.”
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/382478
~~~~~~~~~~
It did not help that news reports revealed a lengthy conversation between Netanyahu and Biden on Saturday, in which Biden requested that Israel “scale back” the attack against Hamas.
Later Biden declared that he had not demanded a “ceasefire.” Well, thank you, no, you didn’t. But “scaling back” has implications for the length of the war and the risk to our soldiers.
In a statement to the nation Sunday evening, Netanyahu said:
“Citizens of Israel, we are intensifying the war in the Gaza Strip. We will continue to fight until absolute victory over Hamas.”
The question is one of how fiercely we will continue that war, and how quickly we will be able to achieve our goals with Biden and others breathing down our necks.
~~~~~~~~~~
Today (Monday), Netanyahu visited soldiers in Gaza. He then reported to his Likud faction:
“We are not stopping, we are continuing to fight and we are deepening the fighting in the coming days, and this will be a long battle and it is not close to being over. We need patience, unity, and to stick to our mission.”
And there we are. May our resolve stay strong.
~~~~~~~~~~
There are two other related security/military issues that I wish to mention briefly here. Issues that I have not attended to because of that focus on our war with Hamas.
The first is with regard to Hezbollah in the north. Prospect of war with that terror group looms large. As much as is possible, our leaders – both military and political – have taken the position that it is preferable to complete our declared mission in Gaza before moving to do major battle in the north. Whether this will be possible remains to be seen.
~~~~~~~~~~
Some important background here:
With guidance, support and encouragement from Iran, its two proxies – Hamas and Hezbollah – were planning to jointly launch a major surprise attack on Israel from two fronts at the same time. What that would have entailed does not bear thinking about.
But in the end, Hamas jumped the gun, literally and figuratively. They decided to attack in Israel before the planned date (according to my information, because of the music festival that attracted many young people). They did not inform Hezbollah of what they intended to do: Hezbollah was left in the dark on October 7. (Hezbollah Chief Nasrallah, in a talk he gave, indicated as much.)
Hezbollah realized that they no longer had the element of surprise working for them. As soon as Hamas attacked in the communities adjacent to Gaza, Israeli troops (some 30,000 reservists) were sent north.
Hezbollah has been attacking – launching rockets and mortars, but not with full force. Yet. We have been responding. But the attacks from Hezbollah have increased. Residents of communities in the far north of Israel, vulnerable to these attacks, have left and are living elsewhere temporarily. They refuse to return until they know they are safe from attack.
One of the reasons it is so very important that we finish Hamas decisively is because of the message of deterrence. We must show Hezbollah what we are capable of and what our resolve is.
A full-blown war with Hezbollah, should it come to pass, would be worse than what we are dealing with now in Gaza. Hezbollah possess a number of precision rockets supplied by Iran, more sophisticated than anything Hamas has. Of course, these rockets, as well, are hidden in civilian areas.
I, along with others, retain a hope – which grows dimmer – that in the end Hezbollah might reconsider because they would be finished in Lebanon at the end of the fighting.
~~~~~~~~~~
And then, we have major problems to our east in Judea & Samaria, where there are also Hamas terrorists.
See this article by David Weinberg that addresses the problem. Much more to follow:
https://www.israelhayom.com/opinions/ready-the-rapid-response-squads-everywhere/
~~~~~~~~~~
Am Yisrael is a special people, and our behavior during the war has been extraordinary. I have wanted for some time now to do a post focused on amazing stories about the selflessness of our people, our support for each other and the nation.
Let me begin here, with much more to follow. Please share this material broadly.
Many of you may remember Artem Dolgopyat, the Israeli gymnast who won an Olympic gold medal in Tokyo in 2021.
This past October 7 (yes, the day of the Hamas massacre) he won a gold medal in the floor gymnastics world championship at the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Antwerp.
Now he has decided to auction the medal, which is worth about $100,000, and donate the money towards rehabilitation of the communities of the Gaza envelope.
“It’s a medal dear to my heart, a medal that held all my dreams,” he said. “[But] what is being world champion worth, if my country is hurting? For me, the State of Israel comes first.”
Israel News Highlights
~~~~~~~~~~
To my Christian friends, I hope you are enjoying a happy and peaceful holiday.
~~~~~~~~~~
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.
~~~~~~~~~~
© Arlene Kushner. This material is produced by independent journalist Arlene Kushner. Permission is granted for it to be reproduced only with proper attribution.
