Reports have been circulating recently that members of the Abu Amara clan, one of the more prominent families in northern Gaza, killed two Hamas members this week in retaliation for the terrorist group’s assassination of a clan leader. This suggests that the jihadists might be beginning to lose their grip on power. But does that mean Israel is winning? Or is it failing to convert the IDF’s tactical successes into strategic gains, especially given the threat from Hizballah and other Iranian proxies? This is the subject of a deeply informed debate between Seth Frantzman, an Israeli journalist, and John Spencer, the U.S. Army’s leading expert on urban warfare. (Moderated by Bari Weiss. Audio, 69 minutes.)

Recent reports suggest that the White House has at last acted to allow the shipments of weapons that had been withheld from Israel and to end further the delays. On this topic, Elliott Abrams comments, “I don’t know what and how much has been held up, but it shouldn’t have happened. The level of delay should be zero.”

In this interview with Ariel Kahana, Abrams also comments on the failings of U.S. policy toward Iran, and the Biden administration’s refusal to enforce existing sanctions:

According to Abrams, Iran has indeed halted the advancement of its nuclear program on rare occasions. “This happened when Bush invaded Iraq in 2003, and when [President] Trump eliminated Qassem Suleimani in 2020. The U.S. needs to be ready to use force in Iran, but credibility is critical here. Only if [Iran’s leaders] are convinced that the U.S. is willing to act will they stop.”

Abrams claims that the U.S. president tried for two-and-a-half years to revive the nuclear deal with Iran until he realized it wasn’t interested. “Iran has benefited from this situation, and everyone outside the administration sees it as a failure.”