WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES!
Since the horrendous massacre that was perpetrated by Hamas close to a year ago, the IDF has been taking down this Iran-sponsored terror group in Gaza, battle by battle. Almost all of the battalions have been degraded; a large percentage of Hamas weapons have been destroyed; 30-40% of Hamas tunnels have been rendered inoperable with 80% of the tunnels in Rafah destroyed; Israel has taken control of the Philadelphi Corridor, thus preventing smuggling of weaponry from the Sinai.
https://www.commentary.org/jonathan-schanzer/hamas-on-the-ropes-a-progress-report/
But all of this was still part of a process, heading towards victory but not there yet. IDF presence continues to be necessary in Gaza in order to put down any resurgence of Hamas fighting power, and this will be the case for some time going forward. Since our troops entered Gaza, we have lost close to 350 of our beautiful and brave young fighters. Hamas leader Sinwar is still alive, hiding in the tunnels of Gaza.
And Hamas still holds Israeli hostages, with some 50 thought to still be alive. People have been out on the street calling for an end to the war – a ceasefire that would (allegedly) bring the hostages home. But the threat we are facing is existential and requires defeat of Hamas; however, the only “ceasefire” Hamas would entertain is a total cessation of fighting and a complete IDF withdrawal from Gaza. These ceasefire negotiations, which toyed with the hopes of desperate family members, were a farce. Qatar, which is in bed with Hamas, has been a key negotiator – as has Egypt, which is not far behind.
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In the face of this, the people of Israel – who by a large percentage resolutely support the war against Hamas – have been living with a profound sadness. Oh, we have carried on with our lives and have certainly experienced moments of joy – we have made a point of seeking these moments, which sustain us. We are, after all, commanded to choose life. But the sadness was always there.
One of the primary reasons that this was so was because we knew that to a considerable degree we were not supported by the Western world. And so, it wasn’t just sadness, it was profound anger and also grief: We watched as anti-Israel sentiment rose exponentially, and main-stream media misrepresented our situation; many people have eagerly swallowed the media lies.
Governments and international agencies (notably the UN and its affiliates) have taken positions that are incomprehensible from a moral perspective. We, who have done more than any other nation in history to protect enemy civilians, were accused of killing too many innocents in Gaza. Fingers were pointed at us, and not at Hamas, which uses the civilians as human shields. On the far left were those who suggested that what happened on October 7 was Israel’s “fault” because we are “occupiers.”
This was an immoral inversion of reason. An embrace of evil over good. A world gone mad. And we stood in the center of this, knowing that we carried a great deal on our shoulders.
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What has exacerbated our distress is the fact that our closest ally, the US, has exhibited a schizoid attitude towards us. Schizoid: Not consistent – delivering conflicting messages at varying times. Shortly after October 7, Joe Biden spoke of himself as a “Zionist” and lent support in a variety of important ways. But as time wore on, and the presidential election drew closer, his message shifted.
He slowed down the delivery of weapons that we needed.
He, along with his horrendous secretary of state Antony Blinken, promoted a “two-state solution,” blithely choosing to ignore the fact that the Palestinian Authority is a terrorist-supporting entity.
Biden spoke constantly about the need for a ceasefire in Gaza, pressuring us on this score. Such a ceasefire would allow Hamas to remain standing. He was, for all purposes, protecting Hamas.
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See an analysis by Akiva Lamm, who maintains with solid reason that Biden’s “de-escalation” pressure on Israel has prolonged rather than shortening the war in Gaza. Sinwar has no incentive to compromise when Biden is leaning on Israel to pull back. “The American interest is for the war to end as quickly as possible. However, the path to achieve this is entirely different.”
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-822236
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Our task here in Israel, then, has been to stand against the world, continuing to do what we know is right. This has required strength and resilience; it has called upon our deepest reservoirs of faith.
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As if all of the above was not enough, what also weighed heavily on us was the totally unacceptable situation in the north, with Hezbollah launching rockets at us since October 8. Some 60,000 residents of northern Israel have fled their homes, farms and nature reserves have been destroyed. We knew that had to be dealt with but sought a certain level of achievement in Gaza before focusing on this.
A couple of weeks ago, the time had come to look northward. We began to move troops up to the border with Lebanon. The 98th Division joined the 36th Armored Division under the Northern Command after months of fighting Hamas terrorists in Gaza.
Israel then went on the offensive. In an incredible operation long in the planning, simultaneous explosions were triggered in beepers and walkie-talkies carried by members of Hezbollah. Not only were thousands of terrorists injured and taken out of commission, Hezbollah, without communication equipment, lost its ability to command its troops effectively.
Along with this, our air force began targeting Hezbollah commanders, so that there were almost none left operating under Nasrallah; at the same time, rockets and launching sites were being hit.
Hezbollah was the most powerful non-state entity in the world – in possession of an enormous array of rockets and missiles, some of them smart missiles that can reach everywhere in Israel. Its army is more powerful than the Lebanese army. And it has a sophisticated tunnel system.
But now Hezbollah was being seriously degraded. After warning Lebanese civilians in south Lebanon to flee north, we hit homes where Hezbollah rockets and missiles had been hidden.
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When it became apparent that Israel was seriously contemplating a ground operation in Lebanon, the Biden administration again spoke in alarmed terms about the dangers of an “escalation” and called for a negotiated ceasefire.
Americans diplomatic efforts at keeping the peace in Lebanon have been a dismal failure. Back in 2006, at the end of the last war between Israel and Hezbollah, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 1701, which required Hezbollah to disarm and move north behind the Litani river. Only the Lebanese army and the forces of UNIFIL were to be situated in southern Lebanon. It was never enforced. And there is less than no reason to believe any agreement reached now would be enforced. By whom?
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Last week, the Biden administration working jointly with France announced a ceasefire plan, which was promptly endorsed by Australia, Canada, the European Union, Germany, Italy, Japan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and Qatar. A great deal of confusion then ensued regarding this situation. The US claimed that Netanyahu had accepted a three-week ceasefire that would “go into effect within hours.” This was to allow space for negotiating a permanent understanding.
Netanyahu was on his way to the US to deliver a speech at the UN when this announcement was made. Was this timing a coincidence? From the prime minister’s office came a prompt denial. And then when he landed in NYC there was another denial: “My policy, our policy, is clear: We continue to strike Hezbollah with full force. We will not stop until we achieve all our goals, foremost among them the safe return of the residents of the north to their homes. This is the policy, and no one should mistake it.” (Emphasis added)
https://www.jns.org/no-bibi-didnt-agree-to-the-insane-biden-macron-proposal/
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It was then charged in certain quarters that Netanyahu had agreed to the ceasefire proposal and then backtracked. But when the wording of the proposed agreement is examined, it becomes quite clear that this is not something our prime minister would have agreed to:
Giving Hezbollah a three-week lull in fighting when we have just degraded them makes no sense. It’s a reprise of the US demands that Hamas be given a ceasefire. We have just seriously weakened Hezbollah. Why give them the opportunity to strengthen? Netanyahu said we would be willing to talk with them, under fire. We will not stop attacking in the vague hope that there might be a resolution to hostilities. Hezbollah will agree when they have been defeated.
But there is an even more significant reason why this proposal is a non-starter. IT DOES NOT MENTION HEZBOLLAH. Incredibly, it refers only to tensions at the Israeli-Lebanese border and calls upon “all parties, including the governments of Israel and Lebanon, to endorse the temporary ceasefire immediately.”
But Lebanon cannot negotiate on behalf of Hezbollah. If ever there was a joke, dressed up as a diplomatic proposal, it is this.
https://www.jns.org/no-bibi-didnt-agree-to-the-insane-biden-macron-proposal/
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I do not wish to belabor the source of the “misunderstanding” between Israel and the US regarding agreement by Netanyahu for that ceasefire. And so just a few salient points:
Staff on the plane with Netanyahu said he had not seen the text of the proposed ceasefire until he was on the plane, headed for the US. He certainly would not have agreed to it sight unseen.
There is a possibility that he agreed to review the proposal once it was put out, without agreeing upfront to any particulars. In an effort to reduce tensions between the US and Israel, when he landed in the States, Netanyahu spoke of “the shared goal of returning people safely to their homes.” This is diplomatic talk and does not mean he believed the two nations shared a vision of how to achieve this.
I have seen several quotes from US diplomats indicating they thought Israel would be on board with their proposal, that they would not have moved ahead otherwise. Hey, they were going to solve the situation for us. Why shouldn’t we agree? If this is true, it indicates how little the US understands us and our situation.
Of course, then there is David Israel of The Jewish Press, who simply said the Americans lied.
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But, in the end, all of this discussion is moot, because we have achieved an astounding success:
On Friday, in the early evening, we took out Hezbollah leader and arch-terrorist Hassan Nasrallah!!
Relying on an enormous amount of intelligence from the IDF and Mossad, and 10 years in the planning, we succeeded in bombing Hezbollah underground headquarters in the heart of Beirut without arousing suspicions that would have prompted Nasrallah and other commanders who were present with him to flee.
The F-15I Ra’am fighter jets that were employed in the operation were operated by members of the 69th Squadron. Bunker busters were utilized to ensure that the bombs went deep enough underground to reach the terrorists. A large series of bombs – some 100 in all – were dropped, one after the other, every two seconds “in perfect precision” to ensure that Nasrallah was reached.
https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-822095
Prime Minister Netanyahu apparently gave the order for the hit from his hotel room in NYC, before his speech at the UN; he flew back to Israel promptly after giving that talk.
Brig.-Gen. Amichai Levine, the commander of Hatzerim Airbase, declared on Saturday that the mission to neutralize Hassan Nasrallah demanded unique, world-class capabilities from the Israel Air Force.
“’The operation succeeded perfectly,’ Levine said, praising the ground crews and technical teams for their seamless execution. Not only did they ensure the aircraft’s readiness, but they also managed the munitions, which performed flawlessly despite the complex mission conditions.”
https://www.jpost.com/israel-hamas-war/article-822244
And so, yes, I say it again: Stand Proud Israel!! We are amazing.
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Our immediate task now is to continue, without caving under the weight of international pressure.
Last night, Netanyahu addressed the nation. He began with “If someone rises up to kill you – rise up early and kill him first,“ which is from the Talmud (Sanhedrin 72). Then he continued (emphasis added):
“Yesterday, the State of Israel eliminated the mass murderer Hassan Nasrallah. We evened the score with the one who is responsible for the murder of an immeasurable number of Israelis and many citizens of other countries, including hundreds of Americans and dozens of French.
“Nasrallah was not just another terrorist – he was THE terrorist. He was the axis of the axis, the central engine of Iran’s axis of evil. He and his men were the architects of the plan to destroy Israel. He was not just activated by Iran – many times he activated Iran.
“Therefore, at the start of the week, I came to the conclusion that the powerful strikes that the IDF has leveled against Hezbollah in recent days – these strikes will not suffice. The elimination of Nasrallah was a crucial condition to achieving the goals that we set: returning the residents of northern Israel safely to their homes, and changing the balance of power in the region for years to come. Because so long as Nasrallah lived, he would have quickly rebuilt the abilities which we removed from Hezbollah. And therefore I gave the instruction – and Nasrallah is no longer with us.”
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/396877
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“The unprecedented series of blows delivered by the Israel Defense Forces to Hezbollah’s leadership and arsenal has severely harmed the Iranian-backed terror army’s ability to attack,” writes Yaakov Lappin.
“Recent airstrikes have not only taken out almost the whole of Hezbollah’s command structure but have also strategically crippled its ability to fire rockets and missiles, reducing its planned mass barrages to much smaller attacks.”
According to IDF International Spokesperson Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani “One of Hezbollah’s key threats, long-range and precision-guided missiles, has also been substantially weakened…
Additionally, the IAF devastated Hezbollah’s Iranian-supplied Khader anti-ship cruise missiles, which Shoshani described as “accurate” and “dangerous.” They could have been activated against Israel “within minutes…and we were able to remove the threat.’”
https://www.jns.org/idf-strikes-severely-damage-hezbollah-command-structure-and-firepower/
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The battle against Hezbollah is not yet complete, and we have heavy work to do going forward. Today (Monday) we continued to attack in Lebanon, and succeeded in taking out yet another key commander, Nabil Qaouk, head of Hezbollah’s preventative security unit.
Simultaneously, we also launched a major attack on Yemen’s Hodeidah Port, a stronghold of the Iranian-backed Houthis, in response their launching a rocket towards Gurion Airport.
Meanwhile, Biden says that killing Nasrallah was a good thing, but now we need a ceasefire. Right…
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Responses to the killing of Nasrallah have been intense, and fascinating. There has been major rejoicing here in Israel, of course. For example, this was the celebration on Israel’s Channel 14:
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/396882
But elsewhere as well there was celebration: Syrian rebels were joyful because of Nasrallah’s support for the Syrian regime. Iranians in London opposed to the Iranian regime stood outside of the Israeli embassy singing and voicing thanks.
While in Iran there is fear and a heightened sense of vulnerability. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has moved into hiding and remains at a secure location with extra security.
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I will try for one more posting before Rosh Hashana, which begins on Wednesday evening. There is much to consider. There are suggestions that we are on the verge of going into south Lebanon with ground troops. What I am reading is that it is hoped the operation will be finished by December.
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In closing I wish to share important insights from Jared Kushner, architect of the Abraham Accords during the Trump administration (emphasis added):
“September 27th is the most important day in the Middle East since the Abraham Accords breakthrough. I have spent countless hours studying Hezbollah and there is not an expert on earth who thought that what Israel has done to decapitate and degrade them was possible. This is significant because Iran is now fully exposed. The reason why their nuclear facilities have not been destroyed, despite weak air defense systems, is because Hezbollah has been a loaded gun pointed at Israel. Iran spent the last forty years building this capability as its deterrent…
“Israel now finds itself with the threat from Gaza mostly neutralized and the opportunity to neutralize Hezbollah in the north. It’s unfortunate how we got here but maybe there can be a silver lining in the end. Anyone who has been calling for a ceasefire in the North is wrong. There is no going back for Israel. They cannot afford now to not finish the job and completely dismantle the arsenal that has been aimed at them. They will never get another chance…
“The right move now for America would be to tell Israel to finish the job. It’s long overdue. And it’s not only Israel’s fight.
“Moments like this come once in a generation, if they even come at all. The Middle East is too often a solid where little changes. Today, it is a liquid and the ability to reshape is unlimited. Do not squander this moment.”
https://www.jpost.com/israel-hamas-war/article-822299
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Thank the Almighty, my friends, for what Israel has been able to accomplish.
And then, please, pray with a full heart for the continued strength of Israel’s government and the safety and effectiveness of our soldiers in battle.
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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.
