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IDF Halted Defeat of Hamas to Spare Hostages

(Jerusalem Post) The IDF was capable of concluding the war against Hamas but refrained from striking nearly a third of Gaza to avoid harming hostages, Dr. Harel Chorev, a senior researcher at the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies, told the Combat Antisemitism Movement on Feb. 18. He added that the IDF has achieved a level of operational freedom in Gaza that allows it, even to this day, to be able to cross the enclave within hours. Israel has two significant areas of leverage over Hamas, he said. "One is obviously the military, once we decide to go back to war; desirably, without the hostages, or at least with very few of them. And the second leverage is what Gaza, and Hamas particularly, needs for reconstruction; all the resources for reconstruction." While Israel allow necessities such as food and water into Gaza, it would not permit resources to enter such as cement, iron, and other materials that could be used by Hamas to rebuild its military infrastructure. Furthermore, regional donor countries such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE are also unwilling to send these materials into Gaza. "Without them forgoing their weapons, nothing will be advanced," he noted. He said the most likely replacement for Hamas as the governmental entity in Gaza would be other Palestinians, albeit not the Palestinian Authority. "The PA doesn't enjoy any legitimacy in Gaza." "We hear all kinds of commentators saying [deradicalization] is a fantasy....I want to say loud and clear, deradicalization is a process that we see in many, many places, including in the Arab and Muslim world. And it's necessary."
2025-02-27 00:00:00
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