A combination of reduced combat intensity with increased humanitarian aid could prolong the duration of fighting, certainly if we add to this the morale Hamas can draw from the harm it has inflicted on our forces, the political pressure on Israel, and the bargaining chips it holds. Israel could then find itself slipping into a protracted quagmire, which will necessarily also increase the risk to our soldiers.
Deaths of Oz Shmuel Ardi, Shay Uriel Pizem and Tomer Shlomo Myara raise IDF toll in Gaza ground operation to 119
Where Israel and the US may have a gap is not in the operational side of the war, but on how much humanitarian aid should be delivered.
The notion that Israel should stop the war before Hamas is destroyed is dangerous. The communities in Judea and Samaria serve as the security buffer for central Israel. And some thoughts on the contemporary Maccabees.
“We are continuing until the end, there is no question,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said late Wednesday. “I say this even given the great pain and the international pressure. Nothing will stop us.”
