Excavations at Tel Eton—thought to be the city of Eglon mentioned in the biblical book of Joshua—have uncovered what seems to be an ancient administrative center. The archaeologists believe that the city, located southwest of Jerusalem, was the third largest in ancient Judah after Jerusalem and Lachish. Robin Ngo writes:

Tel Eton is a fifteen-acre site strategically situated at a juncture where an ancient north-south road connected the Beersheba valley with the Ayalon valley and where several east-west roads connected the coastal plain with Mount Hebron. Surveys and excavations led by [excavation director Avraham] Faust . . . have revealed intermittent signs of occupation at Eton from the Early Bronze Age (3500–2200 BCE) to the Byzantine period (324–638 CE).

The Tel Eton project has concentrated excavation work on the large town that flourished in the 8th century BCE as part of the kingdom of Judah. During this time, the town boasted fortifications and a large house structure that sat at the mound’s highest point. . . . The Tel Eton archaeologists believe this building was the residence of a Judahite governor in charge of administrative affairs in the region.

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.