There's a dissonance that's hard to reconcile between Israel's remarkable ability to execute surgical operations thousands of kilometers from its borders – in Yemen, Iran, Iraq, and closer to home in Damascus or Beirut – and its apparent helplessness in reaching the tunnels where hostages are held, just a few kilometers from our border, a mere two-hour drive from Tel Aviv.
A frustrating contradiction exists between breathtaking operations, such as the elimination of Saleh al-Arouri or this week's assassination of Hezbollah military commander Fouad Shukr, both in Beirut's Dahieh quarter, and the inaction and inability to return tens of thousands of northern residents to their homes. These internally displaced citizens have been exiled within their own country for 300 days, watching helplessly as Hezbollah systematically destroys their lush, green region.
The hearts of Israeli citizens, which two days ago swelled with joy and pride, have been aching for ten months because what Israel is capable of doing far beyond its borders, it fails to accomplish here, just a stone's throw from home and its own border.
Mixed feelings
This contrast persists despite all security branches – the IDF, Mossad, and Shin Bet security agency – working day and night with the best minds to create a different reality here, close to home. Still, the fact that a solution hasn't been found is frustrating. The resulting situation, where Israel is being squeezed and forced to negotiate with a Palestinian terror organization about erasing most of its war achievements and releasing hundreds of murderers and arch-terrorists from Israeli prisons, is even more exasperating. It's okay to recognize and admit this, to say it out loud, while simultaneously rejoicing in the phenomenal achievements far away.
One can only guess how the hostages feel as news of these "Hollywood-like" performances reaches them. They surely wonder – what about us? When will we be rescued from here? As for their families and the residents of the north – there's no need to guess. They have said it openly, "Our feelings are mixed." Their joy is tinged with anger, which is understandable. One can empathize with it. It's reasonable to assume that the sentiment within the security establishment is similar, that they too feel the gap between the amazing capability in long-range operations and the hand that falls short of helping close to home.
On the 300th day of the war, the results on Gaza's battlefields are good, but not sufficient: Hamas battalions, almost all of them, have been defeated; thousands of terrorists have been killed; hundreds of kilometers of tunnels have been neutralized; Hamas's command structure, even at the highest levels, has been severely damaged; and rocket launch capabilities have been almost completely destroyed. Despite this, and even though Mohammed Deif is definitely no longer with us, as long as the hostages are not home, and all southern residents are not safely settled in their communities – the goal has not been achieved.
Moreover, as long as the residents of Kiryat Shmona and the Galilee cannot safely return to their homes (it's time this objective was defined as a war goal), no elimination of a Hezbollah commander, no matter how senior, compensates for a region that the state has abandoned and that has been deserted by its inhabitants.
We rejoice in the targeted killings and the capabilities that the IDF and other security bodies demonstrate, and we're glad that Israel's deterrence capability is perhaps being rebuilt now – but our joy is incomplete as long as the hostages are there and the north is empty of its residents.
