As an officer in the Waffen-SS, Otto Skorzeny conducted a variety of clandestine operations, including sneaking Nazi troops wearing American uniforms behind enemy lines. After the war, his career took an unexpected turn: he was recruited by the Mossad to help locate (and sometimes assassinate) German scientists who had worked for Hitler and were now helping Egypt develop advanced rockets and other military technologies. Dan Raviv and Yossi Melman tell his story:

The Israelis would never find a Nazi they could trust, but they saw a Nazi they could count on: someone thorough and determined, with a record of success in executing innovative plans and skilled at keeping secrets. The seemingly bizarre decision to recruit Skorzeny came with some personal pain, because the task was entrusted to Joe Raanan, who, [like Skorzeny, was] born in Vienna and who had barely escaped the Holocaust. . . . After the Nazis took over in 1938, [Joe] was sent—at age sixteen—to British-ruled Palestine. His mother and younger brother stayed in Europe and perished. . . .

As requested by the Israelis, [Skorzeny] flew to Egypt and compiled a detailed list of German scientists and their addresses. Skorzeny also provided the names of many front companies in Europe that were procuring and shipping components for Egypt’s military projects. . . .

Skorzeny . . . surprise[d] the Israelis with his level of cooperation. During a trip to Egypt, he even mailed exploding packages; one Israeli-made bomb killed five Egyptians in [a] military rocket site . . . where German scientists worked. The campaign of intimidation was largely successful, with most of the Germans leaving Egypt.

For some time, opponents of U.S support for Israel have been urging the White House to end the war in Gaza, or simply calling for a ceasefire. Douglas Feith and Lewis Libby consider what such a result would actually entail:

Ending the war immediately would allow Hamas to survive and retain military and governing power. Leaving it in the area containing the Sinai-Gaza smuggling routes would ensure that Hamas can rearm. This is why Hamas leaders now plead for a ceasefire. A ceasefire will provide some relief for Gazans today, but a prolonged ceasefire will preserve Hamas’s bloody oppression of Gaza and make future wars with Israel inevitable.

For most Gazans, even when there is no hot war, Hamas’s dictatorship is a nightmarish tyranny. Hamas rule features the torture and murder of regime opponents, official corruption, extremist indoctrination of children, and misery for the population in general. Hamas diverts foreign aid and other resources from proper uses; instead of improving life for the mass of the people, it uses the funds to fight against Palestinians and Israelis.

Moreover, a Hamas-affiliated website warned Gazans last month against cooperating with Israel in securing and delivering the truckloads of aid flowing into the Strip. It promised to deal with those who do with “an iron fist.” In other words, if Hamas remains in power, it will begin torturing, imprisoning, or murdering those it deems collaborators the moment the war ends. Thereafter, Hamas will begin planning its next attack on Israel:

Hamas’s goals are to overshadow the Palestinian Authority, win control of the West Bank, and establish Hamas leadership over the Palestinian revolution. Hamas’s ultimate aim is to spark a regional war to obliterate Israel and, as Hamas leaders steadfastly maintain, fulfill a Quranic vision of killing all Jews.

Hamas planned for corpses of Palestinian babies and mothers to serve as the mainspring of its October 7 war plan. Hamas calculated it could survive a war against a superior Israeli force and energize enemies of Israel around the world. The key to both aims was arranging for grievous Palestinian civilian losses. . . . That element of Hamas’s war plan is working impressively.