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America Must Give Israel More Time to Defeat Hamas

(1945) Rep. Cory Mills and Michael Makovsky - Fighting terrorists who wear no uniform in urban terrain is complicated, as one of us learned during deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, battlefields that, however terrible, were simpler than Gaza. Israeli troops need to move carefully through an obstructed maze of streets and alleys, navigating booby traps, snipers, and ambushes sprung from tunnels below their feet. They need to move more slowly still to minimize harm to civilians. Israel is willing to accept these delays, for the safety of both its troops and Palestinian civilians. Yet, ironically, the longer Israel's operations take, the more international pressure grows to cut them short. Such demands would leave both Israelis and Palestinians in greater danger. Hamas' strategy is to purposely put civilians at increased risk, then exploit graphic images of injured civilians to delegitimize IDF operations and pressure Israel to end operations prematurely. Agreeing to a ceasefire that keeps Hamas intact and in power would pose an unacceptable risk to Israeli and Palestinian civilians. A ceasefire with Hamas, struck after the 2021 war and repeatedly violated by Hamas, was already in place on Oct. 7. It did nothing to stop Hamas from launching its heinous attack, and there is no reason to think Hamas would not similarly violate any ceasefire reached now. The U.S. should provide Israel with the political support it needs to take the necessary time to conduct a careful and thorough ground operation that defeats Hamas. U.S. leaders need to constantly repeat that Israel has a right to defend itself, and that the blame for all the war's casualties lies squarely with Hamas, which broke the pre-10/7 ceasefire. Rep. Cory Mills (R-FL) is an Army veteran who served with the 82nd Airborne Division. Dr. Michael Makovsky is President and CEO of the Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA).
2024-03-07 00:00:00
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