In 2004, a team of archaeologists obtained thousands of tons of dirt that had been illegally removed from the Temple Mount and began sifting through it—with the help of amateur volunteers—to retrieve whatever ancient artifacts might be found. The Temple Mount Sifting project, as the endeavor is now known, has chosen twelve of these items by which to tell the history of the site. The first, discovered in 2011, is an amulet with Egyptian hieroglyphics on it, bearing an official epithet for Pharaoh Thutmose III and likely dating to his reign, centuries before the putative date of the Exodus. Daniel Shani writes:

Thutmose III reigned in Egypt from 1479 to 1425 BCE. He was a member of the 18th dynasty, which ruled in the beginning of the era in Egyptian history known as the New Kingdom. . . . Meanwhile, in the land the Egyptians knew as Retjenu, and which the Bible calls “Canaan,” the Late Bronze Age was in full swing, and the country was divided among local “kings”—rulers of city-states.

Thutmose III helped turn Egypt into a superpower by extending his empire from southern Syria, through Canaan, all the way to Nubia. . . . The first, and probably largest, of Thutmose III’s seventeen military campaigns took place in Canaan. The Canaanite city-states revolted against pharaonic attempts at hegemony but were soundly trounced by Thutmose’s superior forces and tactics at the battle of Megiddo in 1457 BCE.

And so the Egyptians ruled the land until the mid-12th century BCE, leaving their mark on archaeological sites throughout the country. [Egyptian] archives relate a rich correspondence between the pharaoh and the rulers of the city-states of Canaan, including the king of Jerusalem, Abdi-Heba. In his six letters, Abdi‑Heba beseeches the pharaoh for help against the Habiru people, and against the rulers of cities such as Shechem, Gezer, and Lachish who, unlike himself, show no loyalty to the pharaoh.

Strangely enough, when reading each of the other rulers’ letters, one finds that each claims to be the only one truly loyal to the pharaoh.

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.