GNITN - Special Edition

Israel At War Day 682

Ending Hamas

No Safe Haven

We learn from a report in The Jerusalem Post that Gaza City must be taken if Hamas is to be dismantled:

The two areas that the IDF hasn’t fully entered and removed Hamas infrastructure from are the refugee camps along the southern corridor, and Gaza City, Maj.-Gen. (res.) Yaakov Amidror explained in a conversation with The Jerusalem Post on Sunday.

Amidror maintains that the safe havens must be wiped out when fighting terrorists:

“One of the things that history teaches us about fighting against terrorist groups is that their ‘safe haven’ must be destroyed, the site where they can regroup and plan their next moves,” he explained. Amidror is a senior fellow at The Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security (JISS) and the Washington-based Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA).

The problem? This is where the most citizens live, a fact that Hamas knows all too well:

The massive problem facing this military plan is that that is where most of the Palestinian population is, in humanitarian areas in some cases, and simply trying to survive - and is likely where the hostages are being held as well.

Amidror states unequivocally that these sites must be demolished to win the war:

If the IDF’s goal is to truly dismantle and defeat Hamas, these are the sites it needs to conquer, he added.

Of course Hamas wants the international community to keep bemoaning the cruelty of moving so many people because if Israel doesn’t these terrorists can work without fear of being targeted. Still Israel needs to relocate these people temporarily in the south in and around Rafah to be able to work unfettered in Gaza City:

Israel said earlier this month that it intended to launch a new offensive to seize control of northern Gaza City, the Strip's largest urban center. The plan has raised international alarm over the fate of Gaza, which is home to about 2.2 million people.

And we need to remind everybody why this whole war is being fought:

The war began when Hamas led a massacre attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. Hamas continues to hold 50 hostages in underground tunnels.

The article then repeats the false narrative pedaled by Hamas even though it’s been proven to be false on my podcast and others:

Israel set out to dismantle Hamas's military and civilian control over Gaza. Per Hamas-run Gaza health authorities, the assault against Hamas killed over 61,000 Palestinians. It has also caused a hunger crisis, internally displaced most of Gaza's population and left much of the enclave in ruins.

Israel Needs To Take Control

The problem with the military pattern up until recently is that the IDF would defeat Hamas in an area and then leave to fight on another front. Hamas would reestablish themselves in those areas and govern them. Amidror says that approach must stop and it looks like it will:

Amidror explained that these two areas are ones that Hamas exerts control over like it did before the war. The emphasis here is control over both above-ground infrastructure and below-ground, i.e. the vast tunnel network.

Israel needs to actually set up a government once they take over militarily:

“This means that they are actually still in charge in these areas - military and civilly,” said Amidror.

And the other major holdup is that Israel values the hostages and if they are truly in these areas then they need to be rescued. The problem with that is Hamas knows this as well and is making getting to them very difficult:

Hamas “had immunity because Israel was careful not to hurt the hostages,” said Amidror, adding that the working assumption is that all the homes there are all booby-trapped - like they were in Rafah and Khan Yunis.

By setting up camp in civilian areas Hamas can continue to use these people as human shields as they continually dress and move among them. Amidror notes the trouble the IDF has with these conditions:

“This war is extremely difficult, and joins historic wars in that terrorists are fighting amongst their countrymen, which makes it so much harder for the IDF to separate civilians from military targets,” explained Amidror.

He ends his assessment by telling us unless the 2.2 million people are moved the war can never end:

“Those who encourage Israel not to harm civilians are essentially asking Jerusalem not to fight at all,” he said.

As much as we feel for the Gazans having to move all the time we need to also remember why they have to: Hamas needs to be called out for creating this hardship and they need to blamed for this and even taking hostages in the first place. And they need to be seen as the ones stealing the humanitarian aid from them as well. If the world wants to find the villains they need only look at Hamas. Sadly their antisemitism blinds them to the truth. But that can change . Pray that God changes their hearts as only He can. Unfortunately some in Israel believe the lies. That needs to change as well.