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Why Israel Will Not Let Up in Its War on Hamas

(Al Arabiya) David Powell - Israel has been under severe external pressure to halt its war against Hamas and not to pursue the leaders of the group into their last stronghold, Rafah in southern Gaza. The chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces, Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi, responded on Feb. 13 that, while he appreciated advice from Israel's allies, his forces were capable of isolating their enemy from the civilian population and would work to evacuate civilians before launching an offensive against the remaining Hamas battalions in Rafah. Israel's war cabinet, which includes Netanyahu's chief political rival, appears adamant that the army cannot leave Hamas and its leader Yahya Sinwar intact in Rafah, as to do so would be a strategic defeat for Israel. Hamas would rightly claim victory simply by having survived and Hizbullah would be emboldened to step up its attacks across Israel's northern border. The trauma of Oct. 7 remains strong in Israel, where most people have personal experience of relatives or acquaintances killed or kidnapped or called up to fight in Gaza. For the outside world, those events have been largely eclipsed by the suffering of Gazan civilians. But, for most Israelis, the war, while not one they sought, needs to be fought to the end so that the existential threat that Hamas poses is finally removed.
2024-02-22 00:00:00
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