My friends, please share this broadly!!
It is 22 months now that we have been engaged in battle with Hamas.
This is an existential battle and never has there been one more righteous. We have been working to take down a jihadist group that was not only responsible for an obscene massacre of 1,200 innocent Israelis – in which they mutilated bodies, raped women, killed and burned children – but has sworn to do it again. And again. And again.
We have been working to ensure that the military and governing capabilities of Hamas are eliminated and that Hamas can never again pose a threat to Israeli civilians.
At the very same time, we have been working to secure the release of hostages taken into captivity on October 7 by Hamas, which was accompanied by Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and some eager civilians (which fact should not be forgotten).
There were 251 taken – almost all Israeli – from communities, kibbutzim and moshavim, bordering Gaza and from the Nova Music Festival at Re’im near Gaza. Those taken included soldiers and other security personnel, civilian men and women, including elderly, and children. Over time there have been two ceasefire intervals, allowing for the release of hostages in return for release of Palestinian Arabs in our prisons (at a ratio that was nauseating and brings a threat to our people). Additionally, there was one IDF rescue operation and a handful of others who secured their freedom otherwise.
Presently, it is estimated that 50 hostages remain in the hands of Hamas and its associates. (You should know that Hamas claims it doesn’t know the whereabouts of some of the hostages held by other groups.) Of these 50, it is thought that roughly 20 are still alive, if that number. (Forty-nine were taken on October 7, while the remains of soldier Hadar Goldin have been held by Hamas since 2014.)
The treatment of the hostages by Hamas and affiliates has been horrendous. Those who have been rescued have attested to this – starvation, torture, imprisonment in cages and deep tunnels without sunlight. Yet there has been scant attention paid to this by the international community; agencies such as the International Red Cross and the UN, which should have raised their voices from the get-go, have been shamefully silent.
~~~~~~~~~~
Militarily, we have conducted ourselves brilliantly.
There are not sufficient words to express the selflessness and devotion of our troops, many of whom are reserve soldiers who have had to leave families and jobs to fight. We have lost close to 900 soldiers. This means many hundred widows, and I don’t know how many children who will grow up without their fathers. There are far more than 900 who are wounded and require rehabilitation, and many others who are traumatized and struggle with serious PTSD.
Yet we have defeated battalions; exposed command and control centers; and uncovered kilometers of tunnels in a system that turned out to be far more extensive than had been anticipated.
We have taken out Hamas leaders; arrested well over a thousand of the terrorists – fighters and those responsible for October 7; secured territory (more on this below); confiscated and destroyed caches of weapons. And yet, the task of defeating Hamas is not yet complete.
We have been mindful throughout of the need to minimize civilian casualties and have a record on this score that is extraordinary:
“…all available evidence shows that Israel has followed the laws of war, legal obligations, best practices in civilian harm mitigation and still found a way to reduce civilian casualties to historically low levels.” (Emphasis added)
~~~~~~~~~~
Looking back, I think we had assumed that the rationale for our fight was clear – obvious in light of the massacre and the holding of hostages! But this turned out not to be the case: We have run into incredible frustrations and breathtaking complications. Within a day after the massacre, demonstrations supporting Hamas had already emerged and have only increased in their ferocity over time.
There are, I believe, essentially two reasons for this hate-fest. One has to do with latent anti-Semitism; though buried for periods of time, it never truly goes away. The other is the skill of Hamas in promoting a libelous picture of Israel – a picture that was readily spread by left-wing media and is believed by millions; it validates that latent anti-Semitism. Suddenly taking a stand against Israel is the morally correct position and not something to be hidden. The members of Hamas are consummately evil, but they are not stupid and have battled us effectively on the PR front. We are being accused of genocide, and deliberately starving Gazan children. Should we have worked harder countering negative PR? Probably. But it has been a tsunami of hatred.
I wanted to say that the demonstrators making these accusations had forgotten about the Hamas massacre, but it’s worse: in many quarters it is being excused as a rightful response to “occupation.”
And so, there have been complications in diplomatic relations with some nations, and difficulties encountered by Israelis abroad. Because of a corrupt International Criminal Court, our prime minister has to think twice about where he goes because there is a warrant out for his arrest. The Democratic candidate for mayor of NYC, Zohran Mamdani, has said if he becomes mayor he would have Netanyahu arrested, should he come into the city.
The Polish police blocked an IDF contingent from carrying an Israeli flag at Auschwitz. Auschwitz! How do we wrap our heads around this obscenity? A mob at the port in Syros, Greece blocked a group of Israeli tourists on a cruise ship from debarking – their intent, they said, was to “raise their fists in solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza.” Ugly, ugly.
None of this has had the effect of making us stop fighting. We have stood our ground with conviction – and more than a little revulsion, knowing with certainty how different the truth is from the vile falsehoods that are being spread and believed.
We see the tasks that still lie before us: It is not “just” that there are former allies who are not supporting us, who do not comprehend our position or choose not to accept it for political reasons. It is worse: they have lost the script altogether. They do not see that Israel is battling radical Muslim Jihadists, who are a major threat to Western culture, Western nations. So convoluted is the thinking of some (Macron in France, Starmer in Britain and Carney in Canada) that they are preparing to recognize a Palestinian state, closing their eyes to the Jihadist ideology and terrorist connections of the PA.
It feels like a world gone mad. No, let me correct this: It IS a world gone mad.
~~~~~~~~~~
We would have won our battle against Hamas many months ago if it were not for the very critical factor of the hostages: When Hamas seized them, they knew precisely what they were doing. Twice, we have ceased fighting for a duration of some weeks in order to secure release of some hostages. During these times, Hamas was able to regroup and do some re-arming; they booby-trapped areas from which we temporarily withdrew for the ceasefire and to which we were going to return. This would be the case again were we to agree to another ceasefire.
But what is most significant is that we have avoided fighting in certain areas where we believed the hostages were likely being held in tunnels underground. It is difficult to take down the enemy when certain swaths of territory are off-limits.
~~~~~~~~~~
Securing the return of the hostages has been among the goals of the war from the beginning. But the nation has been seriously divided on the issue of which is the first priority: defeating Hamas or rescuing all of the hostages. Do we stop working to take down Islamists who want us dead in order to save those who are being held?
I stand with those who say we cannot stop, we must not stop. The safety and the security of the nation of Israel as a whole must be the priority. All that can possibly be done to save those in captivity should be done, short of risking the nation. I too grieve for those who are being held.
Most of the time, in public statements Netanyahu has put taking down of Hamas at the head of the list, but I had noticed of late there were occasions during which he mentioned the hostages first. I saw this as a caving, at least verbally, to the leftist voice on the street which is very vociferous. And perhaps a caving to the Trump administration as well, which is forever pushing “negotiations”.
Thousands demonstrate on the street: “Stop the war, bring them all home now!” Some of these demonstrators have loved ones in captivity, and I would not for a second minimize their pain. Many, however, are anti-Netanyahu leftists with another agenda.
Their cry is without logic and simply exacerbates the difficulty of the situation. Hamas has never said that if we stop the war they will release all hostages, living and dead. This is a figment of the fevered imagination of those on the street. They fashion the demand as if it were in Netanyahu’s hands to bring them all home. But it is not. And the more pressure is brought to bear on him, the more Hamas sees that it has the advantage.
What has Hamas said? That they will release all hostages if the IDF leaves Gaza completely; Hamas is permitted to stand, still armed; all Palestinian Arab prisoners – including those with life sentences – are released; and a Palestinian state is established with Jerusalem as its capital. This last is an addition, thanks to Macron, Starmer and Carney.
~~~~~~~~~~
For a duration of several weeks past, there were so-called negotiations going on with regard to another ceasefire and the release of some of the living hostages, perhaps half. As I saw it, it was a farce: it was obvious that Hamas was not serious, was not interested in releasing the hostages, and was playing us. Each time they refused, Netanyahu – I have absolutely no doubt with strenuous “encouragement” from the Trump administration – made yet another concession. If on occasion you heard a strange thumping sound coming from Jerusalem, it might have been me, banging my head against the wall.
Ultimately the negotiations appeared to collapse, as there was no agreement possible. But the entire scenario was vastly troubling. It has been troubling for quite some time: negotiating with a terrorist entity, making concessions to a terrorist entity, and utilizing states – Egypt and Qatar – that are not exactly impartial as the negotiators. Hey! Qatar has given Hamas millions and housed their leaders.
MK Simcha Rothman (Religious Zionism) made a statement today that is on the mark in this regard:
“If we don’t aim for defeat [of Hamas], we are endangering the hostages. If we go for defeat, if Hamas had understood from the first day of the war that the hostages they hold are not an asset but a burden, they would have released them and wouldn’t have threatened to take more hostages. We are constantly under the threat of more soldier abductions.” (Emphasis added)
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/413043
~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~
The situation last week felt like a quagmire in which we were caught. It was difficult to see any light at the end of this war. We had been told that we could achieve victory if we secured control of 75% of Gaza. But we have now achieved this, and the end was not in sight.
Hamas then put out two videos of suffering, emaciated hostages they were holding: Evyatar David and Rom Braslavski. The lie was put to the Hamas claim, that the hostages were emaciated because there was no food in Gaza. In one picture of Evyatar David, the arm of the Hamas terrorist who was offering him a can of food was visible, and it was well fleshed out. No food in Gaza?
See here: https://www.instagram.com/p/DM3PzuKIPk4/
~~~~~~~~~~
Hamas was successful, with those abhorrent videos, in arousing further cries here in Israel for the war to stop so that the suffering, starving hostages could be brought out.
But this time it appeared that they had overplayed their hand. Last Wednesday, Prime Minister Netanyahu declared that he was supporting a change in policy: The 25% of Gaza still in the hands of Hamas, much of this in the area of Gaza City, had to be taken by the IDF in order to achieve victory over Hamas.
At last!
He was proposing five divisions fighting for five months and said this would be brought to the Security Cabinet on Thursday, where details would be worked out.
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-863472
~~~~~~~~~~
And indeed, after a session of some 10 hours, running into the small hours of Friday morning, the Security Cabinet did approve a program to take all of Gaza. As the prime minister outlined it, there would be five principles: disarming Hamas, returning all of the living and dead hostages, demilitarizing Gaza, Israeli security control of the Strip and creating an “alternative civil administration that is neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority.”
~~~~~~~~~~
While it all sounded good on the surface, there were many questions floating in the air. A primary one was the objections that Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir raised regarding dangers to the hostages inherent in this plan (as if the hostages were not in significant danger now) and strain on the soldiers. He ultimately backed down and said on Friday that the IDF is “working on the new plan. We will deepen the planning, prepare at the highest level in all its aspects, and as always, we will carry out the mission in the best possible way.”
Nonetheless, serious questions were being raised as to why all of this had been made public. As Herb Keinon emphasized in his piece in the JPost on Friday, secrecy is an important element in a successful attack. Here, too many details had been revealed.
Minister Bezalel Smotrich (Religious Zionist Chair), for his part, declared that his party would remain in the coalition only if he was convinced that Netanyahu was serious about finishing in Gaza. One of the things that gave him pause was a comment by Zamir regarding phases for the invasion into Gaza City, to give the troops breathing space.
~~~~~~~~~~
After Shabbat was over yesterday and I accessed news, I learned that Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff had met during the day with Qatari Prime Minister Abdulrahman al-Thani in Spain “to discuss an end to the Gaza war and the release of all 50 remaining hostages…
“Ynet cited sources affiliated with Hamas as saying that the US, Qatar and Egypt were mediating in intense negotiations with Israel to prevent it from taking over the entire Gaza Strip.” (Emphasis added)
My response, which I must share candidly: DAMN!! Do not tell me that Trump is with us. He is looking for that “deal,” even now, which he imagines will make him a hero. He is not concerned with whether Hamas remains standing, ultimately not concerned with the security of Israelis.
I am not unduly concerned about the possibility of a deal concocted by Witkoff. As I outlined above, the conditions demanded by Hamas will never be accepted by Israel. I am concerned about the Trump position.
~~~~~~~~~~
There were rumors afloat regarding the possibility that the talk of taking all of Gaza was just a ploy by Israel to push Hamas into a deal. But I have rejected that thought. First, because there is, as I have indicated and indicated again, there is no meeting of the minds that would make a deal possible.
And then, because the prime minister held a press conference in English this evening in which he clearly delineated his intentions of taking down Hamas:
“Gaza will be demilitarized; Israel will have overriding security responsibility; a security zone will be established on Gaza’s border with Israel to prevent future terrorist incursions; a civilian administration will be established in Gaza that will seek to live in peace with Israel…
“Given Hamas’s refusal to lay down its arms, Israel has to finish the job and complete the defeat of Hamas.”
He indicated that he was hoping to move as quickly as possible and is seeking to see it done in less than five months – a counter, perhaps, to the position of Zamir.
See his entire statement: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/413039
~~~~~~~~~~
Stay tuned for further details
Please, pray with full hearts, my friends, for the strength and wisdom of our leaders, the safety of our fighting troops, and the rescue of our hostages.
©Arlene Kushner. This material is produced by independent journalist Arlene Kushner. Permission is granted for it to be reproduced only with proper attribution.
