A must-read from Bret Stephens on Hamas's miscalculation and why Israel won the war:
We’ll probably never know whether Sinwar, who was killed by Israeli troops a year ago this week, ever came to grips with the scale of his misjudgment. Israelis did not crumble in the face of his butchery, which he appears to have specifically ordered against soldiers and civilian communities alike “so as to evoke fear in Israelis and destabilize the country,” according to a recent report in The Times. They did not limit themselves to several weeks of fighting, as they had in previous wars, or buckle to unceasing international pressure, or surrender most of their war aims for the sake of releasing the hostages.
Instead, Israelis rallied and won — at least inasmuch as a lasting victory is ever possible in the Middle East.
They have changed the game with Lebanon and Syria. They have humiliated and defanged Iran. They have gotten back their remaining living hostages without giving up their most important leverage in Gaza, which is the control of its inner perimeter. They have secured the commitment of Muslim countries to a Gaza free from Hamas’s governance: If that fails, they have some assurance that Gazans will resist future attempts by Hamas to drag them into another calamitous war. They have maintained diplomatic relations with friendly Arab states. And, for all the global street protests, hostile op-eds and meaningless arms embargoes, they have the full-throated backing of the only foreign government that matters: America’s.
https://t.co/UXOh5ZMBBQ
On Saturday 100,000 marched in London.
They are not there when Iran murders women over Hijab laws
They are not there when Pakistan slaughters its minorities
They were not even there when Assad butchered Palestinians.
They only protest when the Jewish state defends itself.
Isreali Ground Forces are reported to have suffered No Casualties during last nights Advance into the Northern Gaza Strip near the City of Beit Hanoun.
The @UN Secretary-General just said that, “the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum.”
For 15 years, the UN stood by and watched Hamas steal aid dollars, build military facilities in hospitals, store rockets in UNRWA schools, fire rockets from civilian neighborhoods, arrest, torture, and murder political opponents, silence free speech, and commit countless human rights crimes against the Palestinian people.
So yes @antonioguterres, there was a vacuum. The UN failed to protect civilians in both Israel and Gaza. Don't you dare point your finger at anyone but your own institution.
Understand this-
If Israel lost every weapon over night, they would be gone by this weekend.
If every weapon in the Middle East was taken and given to Israel, nothing in the World would change.