Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu explained his strategy in why he wanted a ceasefire with Hezbollah.
He said the “reason for having a ceasefire is to separate the fronts and isolate Hamas.” Hamas sees the writing on the wall and rather than absorb the full force and fury of the IDF attack, it's now asking Israel for a ceasefire.
“From day two of the war, Hamas was counting on Hezbollah to fight by its side. With Hezbollah out of the picture, Hamas is left on its own. We will increase our pressure on Hamas and that will help us in our sacred mission of releasing our hostages,” Netanyahu said in his remarks announcing the Hezbollah deal on Tuesday.
“In Gaza, we dismantled the Hamas battalions and killed close to 20,000 terrorists. We killed [Hamas leader Yahya] Sinwar, we killed [military chief Mohammed] Deif, we killed senior Hamas officials and we brought 154 hostages back. We are committed to bringing them all home, the 101 hostages still in Gaza, those who are still alive as well as the dead, and end[ing] the terrible anguish of their families. We are of course committed to completing the annihilation of Hamas,” he added.
What Netanyahu can't know and wouldn't mention if he did, is that the IDF may have killed 20,000 Hamas terrorists, but how many were created by Israel's destructive conflict with the Palestinians? How many young men were radicalized?
I'm not trying to rain on Netanyahu's victory parade, but surely the prime minister knows that Israel's war against the terrorists resulted in a lot of innocent lives lost. He knows that eventually — in five or ten years — Hamas will have rebuilt its cadres using the relatives of loved ones who lost their lives during the war and are seeking revenge.
Hezbollah swore it wouldn't stop fighting until Israel made peace with Hamas as well. So much for that. And Hamas has sworn to continue the fight until Israel withdraws from Gaza. That, too, appears to be a pipe dream. Israel isn't leaving quite yet.
Months of attempts to negotiate a ceasefire have yielded scant progress and negotiations are now on hold, with mediator Qatar saying it has told the two warring parties it would suspend its efforts until the sides are prepared to make concessions.
Last week, senior Israeli defense officials said there were emerging signs that Hamas was now open to a deal that would not include a complete end to the war and total Israeli pullout, a demand that had torpedoed previous efforts to reach an agreement.
There's one major domestic sticking point for Israel. Some of Netanyahu's far-right coalition is balking at exchanging any more Hamas prisoners for Israeli hostages still being held — if any are still alive.
Ben Gvir and fellow far-right minister Bezalel Smotrich are threatening to torpedo any ceasefire deal with Hamas if it includes a release of Hamas prisoners held in Israeli jails.
In a Channel 12 interview on Tuesday night, Gvir was asked about a hostage deal and answered that “we need some patience to bring Hamas to its knees.”
This was too much for one of the hostage's mothers, who claims that Gvir is only interested in occupying the Gaza Strip. Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan has been held since October 7, said to Gvir, “This isn’t Jewish values. The hostages are suffering in body and soul and you’re allowing this to continue. Where is your cry for redeeming hostages and solidarity? Why not agree to a hostage deal?”
Asked how long he would leave her son in captivity and why he believes a hostage deal would be dangerous, Ben Gvir responded that October 7 mastermind Sinwar was released during the 2011 deal for captured soldier Gilad Shalit and that a new agreement would likewise result in the freeing of dangerous terrorists.
Israel has an obligation to “do everything to release the hostages but we also have a responsibility for the lives of Israeli citizens. I will not allow the release of 1,000 Sinwars under any circumstances,” Ben Gvir said.
Joe Biden is still trying to insert the U.S. into the peace process, but Biden is well past his due date. Neither side is listening to him.
