Even those without attention deficit disorder find it challenging to keep all the world's crises straight. The daunting situation with Israel and Hamas in Gaza, for example, appears to have no resolution in sight. There are a variety of competing solutions at play, most of them by countries with no dog in the hunt. Nonetheless, what is happening in Gaza is the fulcrum about which peace in the Middle East pivots. Solving the conundrum would be an accomplishment for the ages.
Israel Makes It Clear: Hamas Must Go
President Trump’s perspective on the continuing conflict in Gaza tilts more toward economic opportunity rather than an unsolvable conflict. He recently proposed a US-led effort to turn the Gaza Strip into a Mediterranean resort loaded with attendant hospitality industry businesses. Though the idea immediately drew significant criticism, others have called it innovative and bold. Trump’s view is that there are Palestinians in Gaza who are in great distress, and he is willing to take steps to provide aid. “But after a series of meetings with European leaders, including Mr. Starmer and Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, Mr. Trump began to echo the desperate language of other leaders: There is ‘real starvation,’ in Gaza, he said, and the United States would do more to help,” The New York Times reported. He is also interested in what comes after the conflict. However, ridding Gaza of the terrorist organization Hamas will be Israel’s responsibility, in a way that the Israel Defense Force (IDF) sees fit. The US president, when it comes to dealing with Hamas, has closely aligned his thinking with Israel’s security objectives.
From Israel’s viewpoint, Hamas must go. There is no place for Hamas in Gaza’s future. In breaking news on Thursday, August 7, Fox News reported:
“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has confirmed his plans for Israel to take full control of the Gaza Strip, marking a major shift in policy nearly two decades after Israel withdrew from the region. In an exclusive interview with Fox News’ Bill Hemmer, Netanyahu said the move is aimed at eliminating Hamas and eventually transferring governance to Arab authorities. ‘We want to liberate ourselves and liberate the people of Gaza from the awful terror of Hamas.’”
As a follow-up to Netanyahu’s comments, The Daily Signal explained that on Friday, August 8, “Israel’s Security Cabinet approved Netanyahu’s plan and the Prime Minister’s Office announced that the Israel Defense Forces ‘will prepare for taking control of Gaza City while distributing humanitarian assistance to the civilian population outside the combat zones.’”
Food assistance is happening, but not at the level necessary to help the more than two million Palestinians. “Israel launched daily humanitarian pauses (10 a.m.–8 p.m.) in Gaza City, Deir al Balah, and Al Mawasi, along with secured humanitarian corridors (6 a.m.–11 p.m.), coordinated with the UN, to expand aid access. One hundred twenty trucks entered Gaza on Monday during the first humanitarian pause,” according to the American Jewish Committee website. Additionally, the IDF flew an initial airdrop mission into Gaza, parachuting in much-needed necessities like flour, sugar, and canned food. Other countries, like Egypt, began trucking foodstuffs into Gaza. Jordan and the United Arab Emirates airdropped 25 tons of non-perishable food.
Hamas Complicates Food Distribution
Continual interference by Hamas, with soldiers embedded among the civilians seeking help, complicates the distribution of critically needed food. Worse yet, as Jed Babbin explained in the Washington Times, “Food is being withheld from Gaza because the United Nations insists that Hamas participate in the distribution of it, rather than legitimate US aid groups or any independent agency. Hamas has threatened the lives of anyone who distributes food without its participation.” If Hamas is involved, it is stealing the food and selling it back to the Palestinians at exorbitant prices.
Hamas has only one bargaining chip – the hostages. Reports claim that only 20 of the 50 held by the terrorists are thought to be alive. As they have done in the past, Hamas will continue to try to use the hostages as leverage. However, as the IDF closes in on Hamas, the circumstances are more desperate. They believe that if they hold out, world public opinion will force Israel to agree to its demands. The demands are not credible. Hamas wants all of the Palestinians held in prison by Israel to be released and for the IDF to withdraw entirely from Gaza. They will then release the remaining hostages. That leaves Hamas with some level of control over Gaza. That is not going to happen. Netanyahu has made it clear from the first days of the conflict.
