On Wednesday, four ships carrying some 100 troops set sail from Virginia to begin the construction of a temporary offshore pier for delivering food and other necessities to the people of Gaza. This newsletter has mentioned the serious concerns about this mission, especially the danger that American personnel will come under fire. One U.S. military expert, drawing on his own experience, described delivering humanitarian aid as a “nightmare.”

But the offshore pier is an idea that Israeli politicians and experts have been debating for several years, and some remain in favor of it. Among them is Yigal Carmon, who sees the project as “no less than a miracle” because it will undermine both Hamas and its protector, Qatar, while creating a bigger role for the U.S. and United Arab Emirates:

The port initiative will cut off the Hamas-Qatar control of the supplies that until now came through the Rafah crossing [on the Gaza-Egypt border], and from there was stolen by Hamas and later sold to the population for inflated prices. Any weakening of Qatar will make Hamas more cooperative in turning the hostages into a trading asset in negotiations, which is not the case right now, as their main goal is a ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal.

The port . . . will enable Israel to carry out the absolutely necessary military operation in Rafah . . . with minimal civilian casualties, since the population will move again to where there is a secure and constant flow of food thanks to the U.S. and the Emirates.

This ongoing supply of humanitarian aid to Gaza could become the beginning of the end to this terrible war if the administration will not heed the Qatari and Iranian attempts to derail it. The worst thing to happen would be if America involves Qatar in the port project. Qatar, being unable to stop the administration, will seek to sabotage the project from within.

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.