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What Israel Needs to Do to Prevent Hamas from Winning the War

(Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs) Lt.-Col. (res.) Maurice Hirsch - When Hamas launched the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre, its immediate goals were to murder as many Jews as possible and to take as many hostages as possible to use as bargaining chips to secure the release of other genocidal terrorists sentenced by Israel to prison. Hamas's additional goals were to provoke Israel into a massive military response that would take the lives of thousands of Gazans, who would then be used to vilify and castigate Israel in the international arena. Finally, Hamas sought to survive the war, maintain its position of governance and dominance in Palestinian society, and enjoy the fruits of the inevitable international effort to rebuild Gaza. Following Oct. 7, Israel's government set the goal of dismantling Hamas's military and governance capabilities. Only by destroying Hamas - through the elimination or capture of its members in both Gaza and Judea and Samaria, and the complete dismantling of its governing infrastructure - can Israel prevent a Hamas victory. Until January 2025, external forces compelled Israel to undermine its goals and allow Hamas to continue fulfilling its governance roles in the guise of humanitarian aid distribution. While Israel has secured the release of 197 hostages, Hamas continues to hold 58 people in captivity. Of these, there have been signs of life from 20 and another three may be alive. While some try to promote the false narrative that the terrorists would release all the hostages if Israel agreed to end the war before destroying Hamas, the truth is that the hostages are Hamas's ultimate insurance policy. Hamas will never release all of the hostages simply through negotiation. Accordingly, the Israeli military has no alternative other than to systematically comb through Gaza, inch by inch, in search of the hostages. The writer, former director of the Military Prosecution in Judea and Samaria, is director of the Palestinian Authority Accountability Initiative at the Jerusalem Center.
2025-05-15 00:00:00
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