Will Israel end the war it hasn’t finished?

Rockets are still being launched from Gaza, dozens of terrorists are still being discovered, 24 live hostages languish in tunnels more than 50 feet below the ground and armed Hamas operatives remain very much intact, able to regroup and attack, almost without missing a beat. So why would anyone think that this is the ideal time to retreat and call it a day – especially 1700 elite soldiers who were trained for war and victory on the battlefield?

While many ponder the wisdom of stopping the war, before it’s finished, it’s important to remember that this is no ordinary war. It is, instead, a non-ending conflict which began 76 years ago, as Israel declared herself a nation, while being constantly hounded by neighboring countries who plotted her destruction.

Now that we have been embroiled in Israel’s longest war, 1700 elite soldiers have signed on to a letter, demanding the immediate release of Hamas’s most valuable assets – all of the hostages, in return for a complete end to the war.

While that sounds undeniably honorable and possibly the only realistic way to end the stalemate, we must ask if it is a decision which will benefit the nation of Israel as a whole? Furthermore, is it a demand which should be made by the ones who are meant to follow orders from seasoned and savvy generals whose ultimate job is to deliver a win?

A recent Jerusalem Post editorial emphasized how politics must never enter into the considerations of how war is waged, especially given the reality of “enemy countries at or near Israel’s borders, tent on it’s destruction.”

But politics entering into the equation is almost unavoidable, and part of that is due to the feeling of many citizens who believe that the prime minister, under whose watch this war began, has still failed to accept accountability by way of agreeing to an investigative commission in order to meticulously examine how Israel was so unprepared, leaving southern communities completely vulnerable with no way to adequately defend themselves from the surprise and well-coordinated attack it suffered.

For over a year and a half, we’ve all been asking, where was the military, the security services, the police, the leaders?  And where was our prime minister?  No one was available while a second holocaust was taking place – a massacre which should have been detected well before it was executed to avoid the tragedy that should have never taken place.  All we’ve been told is that no such investigation will take place until the war’s end.  But when will that happen? 

At present, Hamas has, yet again, rejected an Egyptian ceasefire proposal, predicated upon the terror group agreeing to lay down their weapons and completely disarm., to which a senior Hamas operative responded, making it clear that such a condition is non-negotiable.

In that proposal, half of the Israeli hostages would be released in return for a 45-day temporary truce, accompanied by more humanitarian aid to Gaza.  Hamas’s terms begin with an immediate and full withdrawal of the IDF from Gaza while they get to keep their weapons.  So, in that very lopsided agreement, Hamas would be permitted to remain a lethal force, with the ability to continue their threat upon southern communities as well as rocket launches into the center of the country?

In reality, only one side would really be committing to an end of the fighting, And then after half of our hostages are released, what becomes of the other half, should Israel try to defend her citizens from any further attacks?  Would we all find ourselves as sitting ducks, due to guarantees that will predictably be demanded, preventing us from any response?

How can we believe that the remaining hostages, Hamas’s most valued assets, will be freed?  Because kidnapping innocent Israelis has served the enemy well as they have cleverly managed to extract thousands of the worst bloodthirsty murderers from the Israeli prisons where they were serving life sentences.  In return, all we have been able to do was negotiate for a trickle of Israeli hostages who were returned in a deplorable state of health, after having nearly been starved to death.

The problem is that when dealing with hard-core terrorists, who lack any conscience or morality, even when it comes to the fate of their own people, trusting that they will operate with any level of integrity is a foolhardy assumption.  The incomparable value of Israeli hostages is their greatest currency, so isn’t it naïve to think that they would place themselves at a disadvantage, by having no more assets which have kept them in the driver’s seat?

The soldiers, who have signed the published letter seem to believe that all that is needed is a total surrender, on the part of Israel, in order to have all our live and dead hostages returned.  But no one can assume such an outcome, especially when previous agreements have fallen apart midway?

But soldiers are likely not the only ones who see this war as unwinnable, because even if we are able to decimate Hamas, pushing them completely out of Gaza while, at the same time, finding an alternative home for Gazans, it will have almost surely been at the cost of losing our remaining hostages, not to mention those who have already died in captivity.

Conversely, if we stop the war while Hamas remains armed in Gaza, the threat to our homeland doesn’t subside.  If anything, an end to the war, even if it’s temporary, buys the terrorists more time to reinforce their numbers and reconfigure their strategy.  And what do we get out of it? The ability to finally put this nightmare behind us, bury our dead with dignity, restore the bodies and souls of those who have tasted the hell of Hamas captivity and provide our weary soldiers with the rest they so desperately need.

But make no mistake – whatever we decide to do, will not result in an end to what has become an ongoing war, because if the enemy is not annihilated, they will work night and day, trying to figure out their best course of action to finish the job they also never got to complete.

Either way, there will be no end to this war! But that is no reason to delay an investigative commission to learn what went wrong and why, so that we will never again see a repeat of October 7th and the impossible choice of continuing to fight or saving our hostages.