The IDF can expect to encounter a Hamas with high operational readiness and strengthened morale. It might be appropriate to adopt a more aggressive approach so as to reduce the risks to our forces, even if it runs against the wishes expressed by the White House.
The young lives that were saved teach this nation a lesson in modesty and proportions: Israeli society needs the gaze of its children to examine itself.
The fact that he has been hiding since the beginning of the war shows that he is seeking to survive, but it can also be reversed, and the moment he sees an opportunity to come out to get another image of victory, he may do so. Palestinian sources have described him as a “control freak."
The emerging formula is based on the two-state solution stipulated in the Arab Initiative from 2002, with a demilitarized Palestinian state under international and Arab supervision.
Undoubtedly, Hamas would like to see the ceasefire as a turning point in the conflict. It believes the halting of the fire will result in the IDF losing momentum and it gradually scaling back its operations through a series of limited ceasefires and restrictive conditions until a complete halt to hostilities is achieved. Simultaneously, Israel would lose legitimacy for high-intensity warfare, the international community would increase its diplomatic effort to strike a broader arrangement, and in the meantime, Hamas would recover.
Even if Hamas honors its word, which is not guaranteed at all, five days of ceasefire is a long time. Although the IDF chief of staff says he can manage the risk, no one, including him, knows exactly what the Hamas leader has up his sleeve.
Today marks World Children’s Day. Every parent wonders if their children are getting all their basic rights: food, drink, warmth, a shower, education, love, security, a proper bed, a pleasant environment, and more. As a mother, I don't even know if my daughters are alive.
It is crucial that Hamas’ governing facilities not only be seized but also completely destroyed. Israel must destroy the Kerem Shalom and Erez border crossing, so as to make it clear there will never be a return to the situation in which Palestinians can enter Israel.
Just as in the War of Independence, we are fighting for our very existence. Many names have been given to the war. For me, the “Genesis War” is the preferred option, not only because it broke out when we finished the Torah cycle and started over from the beginning, but because the terrible events forced us to abandon many of our old conceptions and views and pick up from scratch.
In memory of Major (res.) Moshe Yedidyah Leiter, who was killed in battle on Friday evening while fighting in Gaza.