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An Israeli "Pause" Would Help Hamas
(Wall Street Journal) Editorial - Secretary of State Antony Blinken went to Israel on Friday and presented "humanitarian pauses" as critical to getting aid to Gazans and freeing Israeli and U.S. hostages. It strains credibility to think Hamas wouldn't use a pause to its advantage. Nor is Hamas likely to release all hostages and forfeit its best leverage. The way to help Palestinian civilians isn't to slow the Israeli advance. The less control Hamas has over Gaza's streets, the more civilians can escape the fighting and the more aid can be brought in securely. The ground invasion has already allowed humanitarian assistance to ramp up, with more than 100 truckloads now arriving each day. Pushing for pauses in Gaza could backfire by keeping Hamas afloat and dragging out the conflict - to the detriment of Israeli and Palestinian civilians. The U.S. interest is in a swift and decisive Israeli victory.