In an in-depth conversation, Haviv Rettig Gur and Dan Senor discuss the war in which the Jewish state now finds itself. Gur unpacks the events of the weekend and addresses their domestic and geopolitical ramifications, the possibility of war with Hizballah in Lebanon, and their effects on Israeli society and the Israeli psyche. To Gur, Hamas has once again miscalculated by believing that it can convince the Jews simply to abandon their homeland though displays of violence. He concludes by lambasting the moral preening of the self-styled international community and defenders of human rights, who care not a whit about the actual wellbeing of Palestinians in Gaza, but only about their own self-righteousness. (Audio, 64 minutes.)

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.