The existential struggle Israel is engaged in is multi-faceted. While my faith remains strong that in the end we will get where we need to be, I have never once suggested that it is easy. Because it is not: it is agonizingly tough.
The battle to take out Hamas, which is a major aspect of our current existential struggle, has been vastly complicated by the fact that this terror group still holds 59 Israeli hostages, some 21 to 24 of whom are thought to be alive. The decision-makers of Hamas function without compassion, without humanity, but they are not stupid. They manipulate human beings as bargaining chips.
I have written about this situation – which is sometimes described as a “Sophie’s choice” scenario – several times. At each juncture, there have been choices that had to be made. A couple of times, we have agreed to a temporary ceasefire – which allowed Hamas the opportunity to regroup, rearm, recruit new members – in order to secure the release of some hostages.
However, now the fight with Hamas comes down to the wire. Since fighting resumed on March 18, following the last ceasefire, the IDF has made some excellent progress in weakening Hamas. We now control at least 50% of Gaza – killing terrorists and discovering additional tunnels in the process.
Fighting continues in Rafah, which is in IDF hands; as well, we have established control of the Morag Corridor, which runs across Gaza and separates Rafah from Khan Younis. Security zones, which include an area along Gaza’s border with Israel, are being expanded and will ultimately include Rafah. The goal is to isolate and squeeze Hamas.
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Here you see Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir assessing the situation in Rafah last month:
At this juncture, Israel has not yet applied maximum pressure to Hamas, because it was recognized that this would shut down all possibility of negotiating for hostages. The aim right now has been to squeeze Hamas sufficiently to motivate a hostage release without shutting it all down.
Omer Dostri, spokesman for the prime minister, recently clarified the government position (emphasis added):
“It is impossible to bring everyone back in one deal—this is spin…there is no one who does not want to return our hostages…
“We are doing everything possible to bring them home, and once we succeed in bringing them all back, we will destroy Hamas.”
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-850706
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Egypt recently proposed another ceasefire of some 40 or more days in duration plus the release of many prisoners in return for the release of some 10 hostages. Hamas turned it down.
No more deals like this, Hamas has now said: We will release all hostages if the IDF totally leaves Gaza and pledges, with international guarantees, not to return.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/406817
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Many of the families of the hostages, as well as leftists in this country who have been out on the street, saw this as an opportunity to change the current situation. A demand went up: “End the war! With this we can bring them all home.” Simple, right?
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It was in the midst of this clamor that Prime Minister Netanyahu responded definitively last night (Saturday night), in an address to the nation (emphasis added):
“Leaving Hamas in charge in Gaza would be a massive defeat for Israel and a massive victory for Iran. As your prime minister, I will not capitulate to the murderers who committed the worst massacre against the Jewish people since the Holocaust. Capitulation like this will endanger the country and endanger you.”
If Israel were to “capitulate to the dictates of Hamas,” he argued, we would lose all of the accomplishments secured during the conflict which were “achieved with the merit of our soldiers and our fallen and our heroic injured.”
He criticized as naïve and unrealistic calls for Israel to agree to the Hamas terms and leave Gaza, only to go back in to finish the fight once the release of all hostages had been secured.
“They [Hamas] are demanding binding international guarantees which do not enable this illusion of deception which all these experts are suggesting.
“These people have no idea how the international system works. No one, not the US, not China, not Russia, not others in the UN Security Council, will cooperate with this scam, something which will make returning to war impossible. We won’t have any legitimacy to do this.”
I am enormously proud of Netanyahu for the position he has taken in the face of much pressure – and grateful. He is not abandoning the hostages, as some claim. I do not doubt for a moment that he is pained by their suffering. But his responsibility is not just to secure their release, his responsibility is to the security of the entire nation. And he refuses to be deterred from that overwhelming responsibility. He seeks to achieve all of the goals of the war.
Below you will find a video of Bibi’s address, complete with English subtitles:
https://www.israelunwired.com/watch-bibis-churchill-moment/?utm_source=israelunwired.com
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Less than two weeks ago Chief of Staff Zamir addressed the 36th Division, which was fighting in Gaza:
“You, the troops of the 36th Division, have returned to operate in the Gaza Strip, in an area where IDF troops are operating for the first time, the Morag Corridor, in an operation that caught the enemy by surprise, resulted in the elimination of dozens of terrorists, and led to the locating of numerous weapons. You are applying significant pressure. I expect you to bring about the defeat of Hamas’s Rafah Brigade and to achieve victory wherever you operate.” (Emphasis added)
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/406609
Now Prime Minister Netanyahu has instructed the troops to intensify the fighting.
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It made news earlier in April that 950 Air Force reserve pilots had signed a letter calling for the release of the hostages even at the cost of ending the war and threatening not to serve if plans to fight continued.
But everything is not always as it seems: A full 90% of those who signed were no longer in the reserves and wouldn’t be fighting in any event.
The 10% that was still in active reserves has been relieved of their positions. “We cannot accept a situation where military personnel use their status to oppose the war while participating in it,” said a military spokesperson.
One of the groups that applauded the action against those who threatened not to show up for duty was “Reservists – Generation of Victory,” an organization comprised of thousands of IDF reservists that in February called on Netanyahu to continue until Hamas is entirely eradicated and Israel has seized territory in the Gaza Strip.
“For the past 16 months, we’ve fought on all fronts, lost dear friends, and seen many others wounded – all to prevent the next October 7…It’s time to hit the gas, launch an aggressive and swift operation to seize territory in Gaza, facilitate the migration of its population, and eliminate Hamas once and for all.”
The Movement expressed concern, at the time of the last hostage deal, that it might incentivize further kidnapping of Israeli citizens in the future.
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-840597
It is important to set the record straight on matters such as this. I have observed that often media focus on those opposed to the war.
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And so, I mention here one other letter, this from the Gvura Families of the Fallen Forum, signed by some thousand families of fallen soldiers as well as other bereaved families who lost loved ones on October 7. It called for an end to fighting only when all war goals have been achieved, and was put out to counter the publicity about the reservists who say they will not fight.
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-850647
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In his statement last night, Netanyahu also devoted time to the situation with the danger of a nuclear Iran. I will return to this, my friends. It is a vastly complicated and very critical situation that calls for a separate posting.
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Here I end with happy news:
Just over one week ago, the Senate confirmed the nomination of Mike Huckabee – former governor of Arkansas – as US Ambassador to Israel, in a vote of 53 to 46. Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman was the only Democrat to vote to confirm Huckabee. He is not popular on the left because as a pastor who knows his Bible, he says that Judea & Samaria was given to the Jews.
This appointment was enthusiastically welcomed here; Huckabee has visited innumerable times over the years, leading tours, and expresses great love for Israel.
He revealed before arriving here in Israel that he had been given a prayer for peace for Israel written by President Trump. According to the president’s instructions, it was to be placed in the Kotel (the Western Wall), where it is traditional to place prayers in the cracks between the ancient stones, as soon as possible after the ambassador’s arrival.
And this is precisely what Huckabee has done – placing the note in the Kotel on Friday, less than 24 hours after his arrival.
This is what he told the press:
“People sometimes only think that Israel benefits from the United States,” he explained. “The truth is the United States benefits a great deal from Israel, and not just militarily. We certainly benefit from the technology, from the innovation, from defense systems that were developed here, but there’s a much more important and long-lasting side where Americans benefit in agriculture, technology, medical advancement.
“It is not a one-way street.”
https://www.jns.org/huckabee-to-jns-america-benefits-a-great-deal-from-israel/
Bless you, Mike, for speaking truth. And welcome!!
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I ask for prayers for Israel’s wellbeing.
Pray for the wisdom and courage of our leaders.
Pray for the safety of our brave troops.
Pray that the hostages will be brought home.
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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.
