Israel has faced mounting pressure from the international community and the Biden administration not to finish the job it has begun in Gaza. On Thursday, while speaking over the phone with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, U.S. President Joe Biden said that “an immediate ceasefire is necessary to protect innocent civilians.” An administration official reported that Biden is agitated over the accidental killing last week of seven World Central Kitchen aid workers by the Israel Defense Forces.
While speaking in Selma, Ala., in early March, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris called for “an immediate ceasefire” in Gaza.
Addressing the Israel-Hamas war a week ago, she warned: “We have been very clear. It would be a mistake to move into Rafah, if there would be a military operation”. Asked if the vice president would be ruling out that there would be consequences if Israel were to invade Rafah, Harris replied: “I am ruling out nothing.”
Beyond that, analysts have argued that under these circumstances, Israel cannot complete the job of eradicating Hamas and that Israel’s operations in Gaza have led to a huge uptick in worldwide antisemitism.
Last week, Netanyahu told a visiting congressional delegation that Rafah was “the last stronghold” of Hamas and that Israel was “weeks away from victory.” He made the analogy to World War II, saying “leaving a part of the Nazi army in place and saying don’t go there is like leaving a quarter of the German army in place in Berlin.”
In recent polls, the majority of Israelis support completing the mission.
To explain the Israeli position and why winning this war is so important—not just for Israel’s security, but for all the West—is Brig. Gen. Amir Avivi (Res.) of the Israeli Defense Forces.
