We are now in late August, and a good number of the young people here in Israel – among them some of my grandkids – will begin their year of study next week, which means this is their last free week of summer. A good time, then, for me to be with them. Yesterday was an excellent day with a museum focus.
I mention this because it means I have been tracking the news but without the time to post. Yet I did not want to let the week pass without at least a brief posting: And so, here I offer a quick review and projection forward. The issues are critical:
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The week did not begin auspiciously, to say the least, as the very same individuals who have been demonstrating in the streets for the government to stop fighting in Gaza and “bring them home”, decided to go one step further and call for a nationwide strike.
At least some news sources said this was called for by “bereaved families and the relatives of hostages” but this is only partially true. Many on the left, bent on bringing down Netanyahu, were also participating. Nor were all of the relatives of hostages on board with this sort of protest.
The goal for the day was to stop commerce, freeze business – shut the country down. It was an irritant, but not successful, as there were many who did not participate. Sigh, they are threatening to do it again.
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I do not want to belabor the obvious here – I have dealt with this so many times – but the question of exactly how stopping the war would bring all of the hostages home remains the question that is not properly confronted. “Stopping the war” would not do it. Israel would have to pledge to leave Gaza completely and not return, while Hamas, though weakened, would be permitted to remain, standing and armed.
President Herzog was correct when he said on Sunday, “There’s no Israeli who doesn’t want them back home. We can argue about philosophies, but truly, the people of Israel want our brothers and sisters back home.” That is the point, is it not: the argument about philosophies.
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Unfortunately, what these crowds refuse to perceive is that Hamas revels in such demonstrations, eager to see pressure brought to bear on our prime minister. They make matters more difficult. Netanyahu addressed this situation on Sunday, when he said:
“Those who call today for ending the war without defeating Hamas are not only hardening Hamas’s position and distancing the release of our hostages, they are also ensuring that the atrocities of October 7 will repeat themselves again and again, and that our sons and daughters will have to fight again and again in an endless war…”
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Listen to Adi Schwartz, research fellow at the Mizgav Institute, in discussion on this issue with Danny Seaman, on his JNS podcast, “Straight Up,” They address the issues powerfully. See https://www.jns.org/the-real-reason-the-conflict-continues/ and begin at minute 7.
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And so, we are facing two matters, which I will be following closely next week:
One is the decision of the Security Cabinet to move ahead and take all of Gaza militarily. This, it has been concluded, is the only way to defeat Hamas – and defeat Hamas we must.
Yaakov Lappin (pictured) describes the coming situation here (emphasis added):
“Following the Israeli Security Cabinet’s decision to prepare for a final, large-scale military takeover of Gaza City, the war against Hamas is entering its most decisive phase. The impending operation, which will reportedly involve an estimated 80,000 soldiers, is aimed at dismantling the last major stronghold of the terror organization, which continues to hold 20 living Israeli hostages and the bodies of 30 additional hostages.
“Former senior Israeli defense officials have stated in recent days that this high-stakes offensive is a necessary and long-overdue step to achieve the war’s ultimate objectives. They argued that the success of the mission will hinge not just on military force, but on Israel’s ability to project determination and to strategically separate the civilian population from Hamas’s control, thereby forcing the terror group’s collapse as a regime and power broker in Gaza.
“Shalom Arbel, a former senior member of the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) who served extensively in Gaza, told JNS that Hamas, guided by a long-term jihadist Islamist ideology bent on Israel’s destruction at all costs, operates like a ruthless real estate dealer, constantly making a cost-benefit analysis…
“…if Hamas ‘sees that Israel is determined—even if it’s not fully realized, but that Israel is getting close [to seizing all of Gaza]—it will carry out what is called loss minimization and will raise a flag and say, “Stop, let’s negotiate.” It will not want to lose everything,’ Arbel assessed.”
https://www.jns.org/idf-prepares-for-decisive-defeat-of-hamas/
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We are continuing to fight effectively even as this stage of the operation is not yet fully activated.
Just today, according to IDF spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin, soldiers from the Kfir Brigade thwarted a terrorist attack on a brigade post in southern Khan Yunis. Troops identified over fifteen terrorists emerging from a tunnel shaft and engaged them with gunfire and RPGs. In the ensuing battle, supported by tanks and air units, nine terrorists were eliminated and others injured. Several terrorists who entered a nearby building were also neutralized. One soldier was seriously wounded in the incident.
What remains of critical importance here is that Defrin announced that “In accordance with the directives of the political leadership and following the approval of the plans by the Chief of the General Staff, the IDF has begun the next phase of the war, phase two of Operation Gideon’s Chariots.”
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/413597
Already the IDF has begun encircling Gaza City amid plans to move out the civilians. Separating the civilians from Hamas is critical, for Hamas uses them as human shields and otherwise seeks to control them. Some 60,000 troops are being called up to fully mobilize this plan.
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And what we see is that the analysis of Shalom Arbel, above, was indeed on the mark. Already Hamas, seeing the seriousness of IDF intentions, is backing down with regard to a “deal” on the hostages. Negotiations broke down some weeks ago because Hamas had increased demands repeatedly and were being intransigent. Now Hamas is apparently ready for something close to the deal that Witkoff had proposed a while back: Sixty days of ceasefire, returning half the living hostages (estimated at 20) and release of more terrorists from our prisons.
But Israel is no longer interested in this!! A sixty-day ceasefire would again give Hamas the opportunity to strengthen just as we are focused on taking them down. And as they would still hold another 10 live and some number of deceased hostages, then there would be another deal in order to get them out; at this point, Hamas would demand Israeli pullout with international guarantees.
This is no way to defeat Hamas!! We must not let them save themselves.
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There is going to be pressure on our prime minister to agree to this, from some of the families of the hostages and the left here, and, I have little doubt, from Trump.
Netanyahu must hold strong.
He said last week that “we are not going back,” that is, to negotiating deals such as the previous ones. This time he wants ALL of the hostages, living and dead, at one time. Hamas must not be permitted to hold on to any, to use as future leverage.
As part of the “single deal” that Netanyahu now insists upon, there would have to be dismantling of Gaza’s terror and governing infrastructure.
Absent such a deal, we will continue to move forward militarily in Gaza.
https://www.jns.org/netanyahu-no-going-back-after-hamas-torpedoed-talks-on-partial-hostage-deal/
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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.
