In his policy address on Thursday pre-dawn (Israel time), President Biden sketched a new global map composed of a team of good guys – Israel, Ukraine, and the other democracies – on one side and a bad team – Russia, Iran, Hamas, and North Korea – on the other (surprisingly, China was left off the list).
It is probably safe to assume that the coordination between Qatar and Hamas, which led to the release of the two hostages, was intended to grant the terrorist organization several advantages: firstly, to delay and postpone as far as possible the IDF ground maneuver into the Gaza Strip.
After Operation Guardian of the Walls, two successive Shin Bet chiefs were of the view that Yahya Sinwar should be eliminated. Netanyahu, as well as the prime ministers who succeeded him between 2021-2022, preferred the calm after Operation Guardian of the Walls, and believed that Hamas was weak, deterred, and afraid of a confrontation.
Even though some statements by those in the War Cabinet are vague, it’s clear to everyone in the closed room that the day after the war, Hamas will not be in Gaza and may not be at all.
During the new War Cabinet meeting, the decision was made to topple Hamas, but the ministers decided not to address the question of what would happen next: Who will rule the Gaza Strip; what will this look like; and what Israel's role will be in that constellation.
To everyone's dismay, the state budget has not been altered so that billions could be allocated to security and civilian causes stemming from the war.
The seeds for the Hamas atrocities were sowed already 18 years ago. Now is the time to repair this. We have no other choice.
The current situation means Israel is now able to not only to overthrow Hamas and to destroy its capabilities, but also to create a situation where the Gaza Strip no longer disturbs the State of Israel – neither politically, from a security point of view, economically, or in any other way.
Officials say that this war requires modifications to the operational plans that had been prepared in advance. It will be based on the aerial bombardment of Gaza, with thousands of targets and an unprecedented scale of damage to infrastructure and individuals – including those who until now had benefited from immunity.
The intention of “All Biden's Men” by their current conduct is to reflect their basic “operational code” in projecting unconditional credibility and determination pertaining to the realization of both their moral and formal commitments.
