On Thursday, the U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is expected to arrive in the Jewish state for his second visit to the region since assuming office. His tenure has seen closer cooperation between the IDF and the American military, as a result of the Pentagon’s decision in 2020 to place Israel in the area of responsibility of its Central Command (CENTCOM)—which includes the Middle East and Afghanistan—rather than its European Command. David Levy and Shay Shabtai survey the effects of this change:

Security cooperation with Arab states, multinational exercises, and frequent visits by the CENTCOM commander are all indications of Jerusalem’s deepening role as a regional power.

The long-term implications of Israel’s shift to CENTCOM have yet to reveal themselves. However, at the second anniversary of the shift, some effects are already evident. Israel will now participate in CENTCOM’s review and updating of Middle East Concept of Operations, or war plans. CENTCOM will help sway Arab states into allowing the Israeli Air Force to use their airspace to conduct distant operations. Future operations may even include refueling and other logistics support in these states.

In November, Israel and the U.S. held a joint exercise that drilled in long-range strike capability and inflight refueling. Potential adversaries, like Iran, recognize the capabilities displayed and the message sent by such exercises. Earlier this year, the IDF participated in the massive U.S.-led International Maritime Exercise (IMX) hosted in Bahrain. Through these exercises, the IDF is learning to work in a multinational force with other USCENTCOM partners. On a personal level, IDF personnel have and will continue to have positive interactions with the personnel of the U.S. and Arab militaries.

As Levy and Shabtay explain, there are very concrete advantages as well, such as the integration of the sophisticated missile-defense systems used by both countries. For instance, the electronic sensors of an American vessel in the Persian Gulf could detect a missile launched toward Israel and immediately pass the information to Israeli anti-missile batteries, making a successful interception more likely.

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.