Hamas Squandered the Few Chances It Had Left. Will Netanyahu Do the Same?

Will Israel Now Pursue a Clear Plan for Victory?

If Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sits back and lets Trump lead, Iran might accept the president’s invitation to talk, forcing a confrontation between Netanyahu and Trump.

If Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sits back and lets Trump lead, Iran might accept the president’s invitation to talk, forcing a confrontation between Netanyahu and Trump.

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Hamas’s strategic position is badly compromised.

Iran, Hezbollah, and almost all of Hamas’s allies are exhausted, at least for the foreseeable future, with apparently no appetite to lift a finger or fire a rocket to save the terror group. The exception, the Houthis in Yemen, are still launching missiles, but they have no deterrent effect on Israeli operations in Gaza.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seems to have sufficiently solidified his coalition to keep domestic demonstrations from affecting his calculus on a hostage-ceasefire deal.

And Hamas shouldn’t expect the international community to push Israel to end the war in Gaza either. The US is the one country that could conceivably dictate Israeli decisions, but President Donald Trump is more focused on trying to hammer out a truce in Ukraine, and has said repeatedly that he is “really” fine with any decision Israel makes on Gaza.

Read the full article at the Times of Israel.

Lazar Berman is the diplomatic correspondent at the Times of Israel, where he also covers Christian Affairs. He holds an M.A. in Security Studies from Georgetown University and taught at Salahuddin University in Iraqi Kurdistan. Berman is a reserve captain in the IDF’s Commando Brigade and served in a Bedouin unit during his active service.
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