Despite John Kerry’s claim in 2013 to have arranged for the dismantling of Syria’s chemical weapons, Bashar al-Assad’s forces have continued to use them with impunity. Islamic State (IS) has employed chemical weapons as well, as have various anti-regime forces. Hizballah, too, may have already acquired some, and if not, is likely trying to do so. Dany Shoham explains what is at stake:

Although chemical weapons have not brought about a major shift in the course of warfare, they have not been ineffective, offering their users a series of accumulating net benefits, notably intimidating survivors into flight. . . .

It is [also] possible that IS will attempt an act of “mega-sabotage,” meaning a high-impact operation involving chemical weapons or another weapon of mass destruction. The organization is very much inclined to pursue such an operation, either in the Middle East or in Europe or the U.S. Its weakened condition suggests that it is unlikely to pull off such an attack—but its motivation to attempt one is undoubtedly growing.

Of the [groups with chemical weapons], IS is the most troubling. IS has been dented by a variety of adversaries over the past year, but has retained its relatively rudimentary chemical-weapons capacities. . . . The organization has also tried to procure biological and radiological weapons, with no clear outcome as yet. . . .

Beyond the Middle East, the U.S. and Europe are IS’s main targets. . . . Israel, too, has reason to be concerned about IS attempts at chemical attacks. Militants of IS or its affiliates in the Golan Heights have confronted the IDF very little, but there is unverified—though concrete—information in the Israeli media pointing to their possession of chemical weapons.

Hizballah, for its part, could receive chemical or biological weapons from Syria, or, just as likely, from Iran, which is known to have stocks of both.

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.