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The Imperative Remains: Destroy Hamas

(Wall Street Journal) Bernard-Henri Levy - The Jewish people respect the imperative to redeem captives. I know no one in Israel who could watch, without immense emotion, the images of the four young IDF women soldiers reuniting with their families. But there was another image that preceded the magnificent moment of reunion. It was the image of the small stage on which the four were forced to stand, wearing strained smiles, waving at - whom? The Palestinian crowd perched across from them on rubble? Their jailers? Then they were handed over to the Red Cross, the same Red Cross that did not visit one hostage over the past 481 days. This second image was chilling because of the childlike smiles of the petrified prisoners, knowing that everything could still go wrong. Chilling because of the black-clad, masked men surrounding them - some pressed close. Chilling because of what the scene signified to the crowds who watched it live, from Jabalia to Rafah, from Jericho to Ramallah, from Cairo to Amman. An army of criminals, wounded but not sunk, weakened but not defeated. An army that often returns only the remains of its captives. It is vital to remember that Israel has always pursued two objectives in this war. The first is the release of the hostages. The second is the total defeat of the last pogromist squads, which would otherwise emerge from this disaster cloaked in a dark aura that would again inspire those tempted, in Israel and elsewhere, by jihad. Nothing would be more dangerous than leaving behind, as Machiavelli put it, a wounded prince. As long as Hamas retains even a fraction of its capacity to strike - or to govern - Israel can tolerate neither a "durable ceasefire," a "peace of compromise" nor a "political solution." Hamas must be destroyed. Israel didn't seek this war, but it must decisively win. The writer is a French philosopher, war reporter, documentary-maker, and author of more than 30 books.
2025-02-02 00:00:00
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