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Israel Will Defeat Hamas in Rafah
(Wall Street Journal) Ophir Falk - Mounting international pressure to end the war won't weaken Israel's resolve to accomplish its mission of destroying Hamas, freeing the hostages and guaranteeing that Gaza will never pose a threat to Israel again. Detractors dismiss total victory as implausible, but the facts on the ground indicate otherwise. Israel has already incapacitated more than 21,500 Hamas terrorists. John Spencer, chairman of urban warfare studies at West Point, says that Israel is setting the "gold standard" for avoiding civilian casualties. Israel doesn't need prompting to provide humanitarian aid or to act with caution. According to retired British Col. Richard Kemp, the average combatant-to-civilian death ratio in Gaza is about 1 to 1.5. According to the UN, the average combatant-to-civilian death ratio in urban warfare has been 1 to 9. The city of Rafah is Hamas' last stronghold and its defeat there is a prerequisite for victory. Whoever pressures Israel to refrain from entering Rafah is preventing the destruction of Hamas and the freeing of Israel and Gazan civilians from Hamas' stranglehold. Gen. David Petraeus, who led the 2007 American surge in Iraq, said last week that the "key now is to not stop until Hamas is fully destroyed." Asking Israel to stop the war now is akin to telling the Allies to stop halfway to Berlin in World War II. The writer is a foreign policy adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.