Israel's action against Hamas is needed first and foremost to rebuild the deterrence that collapsed on October 6.
Without fully achieving the goals set for the war, Israel could find itself facing an existential threat from its various enemies, who monitor its conduct, and lose its position based on its security strength.
It is essential to mention this again in the shadow of the events of the past week, and in view of the public debate regarding the next steps.
The challenge facing Israel is related to the time constraint.
In order to achieve the goals under the current conditions, the IDF is required to act systematically for an extended period of time. However, the duration of time is of critical importance in the issue of the abductees. Assuming that the intensity of the fighting cannot be influenced and the siege cannot be renewed, the political-security leadership is required to the question of how to increase the The pressure on Hamas and to shorten the time.
The leadership of Hamas, including Salah al-Aruri, watches with pleasure the atrocities of October 7
Among the possibilities, it seems that a systematic attack on Hamas leaders living abroad, along with the continuation of fighting in the Gaza Strip, will serve this need and help achieve additional goals. The control of the leadership and the coordination between the different arms of the organization to prevent its recovery in Gaza.
Without an effective headquarters abroad, and after a fatal blow to its military and governmental capabilities in Gaza and neutralization of its infrastructure in the West Bank, Hamas may lose its status as a movement with regional influence, even if it continues to exist as a persecuted local organization.
This is a common interest for Israel and its neighbors and a goal that the Americans should have pushed to achieve as part of their efforts to design a new regional order.
While the heads of Hamas in Gaza live underground and their voices are not heard, their place in presenting the movement's policy and promoting its affairs is filled by officials who belong to the "political" leadership of the organization and maintain the center of their lives abroad. They replace the hidden leadership also in media appearances, on social networks, at conventions and in policy talks.
Their activity does not end there: they are partners in policy formulation and advocacy and are responsible for mobilizing the political support and resources necessary to build the organization's capabilities and its activities in various regions.
Some of them play operational roles - from interregional coordination for terrorist purposes to the direction of concrete activity in various arenas.
Saleh Arori, who recently left us, was one of the activists known to the public, but he was not the only one.
Meeting between Iranian President Raisi and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, June 2023, photo: AP
Khaled Mashal, Ismail Haniyeh, Musa Abu Marzouk, Bassem Naim, Sami Abu Zohri, Izzat Rishek, Osama Hamdan and Zahar Jabarin are known not only to the "veterans of the genre".
The activity of the headquarters abroad is a force multiplier for Hamas, and it has a decisive contribution in making the organization a regional influencer, especially in view of the difficult conditions that limit its activity from the Gaza Strip or from the West Bank.
The central role played by this headquarters, as well as its efforts to drag Israel into a multi-arena regional war, oblige the Israeli system to make a determined and systematic effort against it until the neutralization of all its components - especially after the monstrous massacre on October 7th for which it was glorified, and after the clear formulation provided by Khaled Mashal regarding his commitment Hamas's absolute will to destroy the State of Israel (from the sea to the river, from Rosh Hankara to Eilat).
"Never again" - again
It is difficult to ignore the symbolism of the closeness of time between the date of the Hague Tribunal's decision and International Holocaust Day.
The Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, drafted on the ashes of the Holocaust of European Jews, was designed to ensure "never again".
Israel, which was attacked on October 7 by the savages of Hamas, the successors of the Nazis, in ways reminiscent of the horrors of the Holocaust, finds itself legally defending itself against accusations of genocide.
Hamas, which defined the Holocaust as a "made-up story without any basis", continuously commits war crimes of all kinds and wrapped its exploits in an 18-page placard, the whole purpose of which is to deny the atrocities of its people, to castigate Israel and slander it.
The State of Israel is waging many struggles, all the time, in different arenas.
The main and most important of them is the fight for the truth.
The claims used in it against Israel change face, form and wording, but their purpose is the same: challenging the legitimacy of the state, of its mechanism, of its actions.
If after the monstrous massacre we are still being asked to respond to ridiculous claims against us, one can only assume what they think of us at other times.
The massacre and the war brought us back to our roots, made it clear that we are still fighting for our existence, and illustrated Israel's duty to guarantee, once again: never again.
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