Last week a Palestinian terrorist carried out an attack at the central bus station in Beersheba, leaving one dead and several injured. In the melee, a security guard mistakenly shot an Eritrean immigrant named Habtom Zarhum, who was then set upon and beaten by a mob. Ruthie Blum writes:

Everyone—from the prime minister to the defense establishment to the police to the public—condemned the brutality and wept for Zarhum. A clear majority says that even if Zarhum had been a terrorist, there would have been no justification for the blows he received after he was already lying on the ground bleeding and no longer a threat. . . .

Since early September, Israelis have been living in a kind of limbo: watching their backs while walking down the street; driving with trepidation; hesitant to ride the buses; afraid to hire young Arabs with sharp tools to do renovations or gardening jobs; jumping to turn on the news with every sound of an ambulance siren or overhead helicopter. Many average people are now carrying pepper spray, tear gas, pocket knives and—those who are licensed—guns. . . . Under such conditions, one would expect the number of casualties from mistaken identity, or from innocents getting caught in crossfire, to be very high. Instead, they are almost nil.

Breast-beating is a national pastime in Israel. . . . I, for one, however, will continue to feel honored and proud, not ashamed and guilt-ridden, to be part of this amazingly strong and moral country, the likes of which the world has never seen.

Israel’s goals of freeing the hostages and defeating Hamas (the latter necessary to prevent further hostage taking) are to some extent contradictory, since Yahya Sinwar, the ruler of the Gaza Strip, will only turn over hostages in exchange for concessions. But Jacob Nagel remains convinced that Jerusalem should continue to pursue both goals:

Only consistent military pressure on Hamas can lead to the hostages’ release, either through negotiation or military operation. There’s little chance of reaching a deal with Hamas using current approaches, including the latest Egyptian proposal. Israeli concessions would only encourage further pressure from Hamas.

There is no incentive for Hamas to agree to a deal, especially since it believes it can achieve its full objectives without one. Unfortunately, many contribute to this belief, mainly from outside of Israel, but also from within.

Recent months saw Israel mistakenly refraining from entering Rafah for several reasons. Initially, the main [reason was to try] to negotiate a deal with Hamas. However, as it became clear that Hamas was uninterested, and its only goal was to return to its situation before October 7—where Hamas and its leadership control Gaza, Israeli forces are out, and there are no changes in the borders—the deal didn’t mature.