A recent Israeli attack on a Hizballah convoy in Syria killed high-ranking members of the terrorist organization and an Iranian general. Although Hizballah has issued the usual threats of revenge, Walter Russell Mead argues that Israel has the clear upper hand:

Spread thin in Syria, and with all its combat energy focused on propping up [Bashar] al-Assad, Hizballah is probably not ready to take on the Israelis in a big way. But if Hizballah follows through with its threats and responds to the Israeli attack with a counterattack, the inevitable devastating Israeli response will degrade Hizballah’s war-making capacity and quite possibly tilt the battle in Syria against the [Hizballah-Assad-Iran alliance]. . . .

The Israeli strike [also] leaves Iran with nothing but ugly choices. The war in Syria is turning into a war of attrition, and the combination of sanctions and a collapsing oil price make it harder for Iran to keep propping up its clients. Serious hostilities between Hizballah and Israel would likely change the balance of power in Syria, further undercutting Assad, and inflicting damage on Hizballah that Iran will be hard put to make good.

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.