Let’s start with the main point: The agreement to release the hostages must be fully implemented, no matter the costs, psychological torment, and teeth-grinding it entails. The release of the hostages is Israel’s paramount duty to its citizens who were abandoned time and again, and the conclusion of the negotiations only underscores this obligation.
The implications of the agreement are clear: Israel won’t cause Hamas to “collapse” because it was never capable of doing so. Israel’s refusal to act in the only way that might have presented an alternative to the terror organization in Gaza, the insistence on force and more force due to political motives, personal survival, and shortsightedness only highlight this simple fact: Since last May, if not earlier, the chosen path of the prime minister, his ministers, and the defense establishment has cost the lives of over a hundred soldiers and who knows how many hostages. The IDF has been worn down by missions that had no impact on the war’s outcome, while Israel’s international standing has been eroded to the core. None of these actions changed the fundamental reality, and they will only amplify the effect of Hamas’s recovery. Its future leadership will emerge from prisons in the coming weeks, even if they’re deported across the Middle East. There’s no point in waving the real and significant achievements of the northern campaign: its decisive actions—the pager operation, the strikes on Hezbollah’s firepower, and the elimination of Nasrallah—could have been achieved even with an agreement in Gaza last May.
There is only one way to atone for this failure—for which the same people responsible for the October 7 debacle are accountable: Israel must fully commit to the Biden/Trump initiative to reshape the Middle East through a regional coalition that will serve as a counterweight to Israel’s enemies. Internally, Israel must immediately complete the war investigations and those responsible for these failures must be held to account.
Let’s start with the main point: The agreement to release the hostages must be fully implemented, no matter the costs, psychological torment, and teeth-grinding it entails. The release of the hostages is Israel’s paramount duty to its citizens who were abandoned time and again, and the conclusion of the negotiations only underscores this obligation.
The implications of the agreement are clear: Israel won’t cause Hamas to “collapse” because it was never capable of doing so. Israel’s refusal to act in the only way that might have presented an alternative to the terror organization in Gaza, the insistence on force and more force due to political motives, personal survival, and shortsightedness only highlight this simple fact: Since last May, if not earlier, the chosen path of the prime minister, his ministers, and the defense establishment has cost the lives of over a hundred soldiers and who knows how many hostages. The IDF has been worn down by missions that had no impact on the war’s outcome, while Israel’s international standing has been eroded to the core. None of these actions changed the fundamental reality, and they will only amplify the effect of Hamas’s recovery. Its future leadership will emerge from prisons in the coming weeks, even if they’re deported across the Middle East. There’s no point in waving the real and significant achievements of the northern campaign: its decisive actions—the pager operation, the strikes on Hezbollah’s firepower, and the elimination of Nasrallah—could have been achieved even with an agreement in Gaza last May.
There is only one way to atone for this failure—for which the same people responsible for the October 7 debacle are accountable: Israel must fully commit to the Biden/Trump initiative to reshape the Middle East through a regional coalition that will serve as a counterweight to Israel’s enemies. Internally, Israel must immediately complete the war investigations and those responsible for these failures must be held to account.