RUTHFULLY YOURS

https://amgreatness.com/2023/11/16/when-has-war-even-been-proportional/

Proportionality in war is a synonym for lethal stalemate, if not defeat.

When two sides go at it with roughly equal forces, weapons, and strategies, the result is often a horrific deadlock—like the four years of toxic trench warfare on the Western Front of World War I that resulted in 12 million fatalities.

The purpose of war is to defeat the enemy as quickly as possible with the least number of causalities—and thereby achieve political ends.

So, every side aims to find superior strategies, tactics, weapons, and manpower to ensure as great a disproportionate advantage as possible.

Hamas is no exception.

Its savage precivilizational strategy to defeat Israel hinged on doing disproportionate things Israel either cannot or will not do.

First, Hamas spent a year planning a preemptive butchery spree inside Israel. Its ruthless murdering focused on “soft targets” like unarmed elderly, women, children, and infants, mostly asleep at a time of peace and holiday.

Second, it sought to collectively shock Israel into paralysis by the sheer horror of decapitating civilians, burning babies, mass raping, and mutilating bodies.

Another apparent aim of such premodern barbarity was to blame Israel’s “occupation” for turning Gazans into veritable monsters, with hopes of derailing the renewed Abraham Accords.

Third, the gunmen took more than 240 hostages back with them to Gaza.

Again, that was a disproportionate tactic designed to meter out the release of captives in exchange for “pauses” and “cease-fires” to save Hamas.

Additionally, Hamas made implicit threats of gruesome executions of captives unless Israel ceased their retaliation for October 7.

Fourth, all the while Hamas shot rockets into Israel, more than 7,000 in total, and all aimed at civilians.

Not one launch was preceded by dropping leaflets or sending text messages to Israeli civilians to vacate the intended target areas—a protocol often used by the Israel Defense Forces.

The unapologetic aim was to kill thousands of Israelis at random and disproportionately.

In fact, in just the last few four weeks, Hamas has launched more than twice as many rockets into Israel as Nazi Germany managed to launch V-2s into Britain in five months.

https://pjmedia.com/vodkapundit/2023/11/14/hamas-gotterdammerung-n4923881

They must have felt like gods, the Hamas terrorists who invaded southern Israel on October 7. Indeed, they enjoyed almost godlike powers, first blinding Israel’s remote-control border cameras and then bulldozing through the security fence as though it were hardly there.

All so they could lord their powers over Israeli civilians — raping, torturing, murdering… and not always in that order. The “lucky” Israelis survived long enough to be dragged back to Gaza to be used as human shields and worse.

Hamas even had the ambitions of gods.  A report earlier this week claimed that captured maps and reconnaissance indicated that Hamas had hoped to reach the West Bank, cleaving Israel in two, and sparking a wider war — Armageddon, to borrow a local word with global currency. “If that had occurred, it would have been a huge propaganda win — a symbolic blow not only against Israel but also against the Palestinian Authority,” a U.S. official told the Washington Post.

What a difference a few weeks make because now it’s Israel’s turn.

“Proportionality” is the diplomat’s word for “fair.” “How do we fight this war fairly?” is a question no victor ever asked, and one not being asked by Israel’s government or military. 

IAF jets roam the skies at will, raining death and destruction on the terrorists who briefly fancied themselves as gods. Once thought to be impregnable, Hamas tunnels — dug under hospitals, civilian apartment buildings, and mosques — are now killing grounds for IDF and Hamas alike.

PJ Media’s own Richard Fernandez — or as I like to call him, The Smartest Man in the World™ — tweeted Monday that current reports from Gaza “appear to confirm my earlier estimate that Hamas is collapsing and increasingly focused on individual survival. IDF infantry probably shifting to pursuit and raiding in deeper forays.” 

https://townhall.com/tipsheet/mattvespa/2023/11/13/with-hamas-grip-broken-gaza-civilians-reportedly-providing-israeli-troops-with-valuable-intelligence-n2631087

Israeli forces have cut the Gaza Strip in two, surrounded Gaza City, and are tightening the noose around the reported nerve center of Hamas. Before the ground invasion began on October 28, Israel pounded the strip with artillery and air strikes, killing scores of terrorists and their leaders. Many have hidden in the matrix of tunnels, which has been an operational concern for the IDF. They’re booby-trapped. It’s nearly impossible to see, and some tunnels are 250+ feet underground. So far, Israel has been able to make inroads, but some 30-40,000 Hamas terrorists remain embedded in the strip like ticks. They’ll be uprooted, especially now that re-supply from Iran is now impossible. It will take time. 

Hamas’ grip has loosened enough that scores of civilians have been able to make to make it safety. Terrorists are still shooting at Gazans trying to flee south, but those who have made it to IDF lines have reportedly been providing valuable intelligence on the whereabouts of Hamas hideouts and weapons stashes. The IDF did a leaflet drop, promising financial compensation for any information on the whereabouts of the 200-plus civilians that were taken by Hamas on October 7. Most who replied didn’t want money, just safe passage out of the war zone:

 No doubt there are civilians who hate Hamas.

https://danielgordis.substack.com/p/five-weeks-in-israel-and-israelis?utm_campaign=email-half-post&r=8t06w&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

EXCERPT:

What moved me—and deeply so—was the devotion of these young soldiers to their nation and their place in history, and their claim, without bravado, that of course they’re willing to die in this war. They’re made of something different.

Aside from that main item, a few small things ….

Holocaust imagery is now everywhere. The cartoon below, from the Shabbat edition of Makor Rishon, is brilliant. As Shabbat entered, Israel had surrounded Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, under which Hamas has built its command center and connections to the hundreds of kilometers of tunnels. The way the tunnels are portrayed in the cartoon captures much of how Israelis see the battle we’ve waging. Keep this in mind: in WWII, approximately 350K Americans were killed. British losses were in the same ballpark. But 4.2M Germans will killed. No one spoke about proportionality in terms of numbers back then—they spoke about winning. To Israelis, this conflict is a replay, which is why the Holocaust imagery is so widespread.

https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2023/11/the_occupation_solution.html

On October 25, 2023, U.N. secretary general António Guterres said at a U.N. Security Council meeting on the Israel-Hamas war that he condemns unequivocally the horrifying and unprecedented 7 October acts of terror by Hamas in Israel.  He continued:

Nothing can justify the deliberate killing, injuring and kidnapping of civilians — or the launching of rockets against civilian targets.

He then justified the attacks:

It is important to also recognize the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum.  The Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation. They have seen their land steadily devoured by settlements and plagued by violence; their economy stifled; their people displaced and their homes demolished. Their hopes for a political solution to their plight have been vanishing.

What was the hoped for political solution that has somehow escaped Israel and the Palestinians all these years?  Guterres explained:

A negotiated peace that fulfills the legitimate national aspirations of Palestinians and Israelis, together with their security alike — the long-held vision of a two-state solution.  

This vision of a two-state solution is shared by President Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken.  It is not shared by Benjamin Netanyahu, who said that Israel will take responsibility for Gaza for the indefinite future.  Netanyahu explained that only occupation of the Gaza Strip can prevent an “eruption of Hamas terror.”

This vision of a two-state solution is not shared by the Palestinian Authority, either, who in 2000 was offered and rejected an independent sovereign state in almost all of the West Bank and Gaza, without a single settlement in sight, and a capital in east Jerusalem.  They rejected the offer because it did not include an agreement by Israel to be flooded with millions of Palestinian Arabs living in refugee camps in the West Bank.  If the Palestinian Authority had accepted that suicidal offer, it could have had an army with tanks and planes, with only a 10-mile-wide stretch of Israel between them and the Mediterranean Sea.  The lunacy of the two-state solution becomes even more apparent when one realizes that in the 28 years since the Oslo Accords, the existence of four de facto Palestinian states did not stop terrorism.

Guterres believes that there can be peace once the Palestinian Arabs cease suffocating under Israel occupation, but are they suffocating?  Are they occupied?  Who is occupying whom?  A poll carried out by the Palestine News Network found that 93% of Arab residents of East Jerusalem preferred to live under Israeli governance rather than that of the Palestinian Authority.  One would almost think that the Palestinian Authority and not Israel is the suffocating occupier.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/antony-blinken-israel-hamas-palestinian-authority-gaza-benjamin-netanyahu-3a92fb36?mod=opinion_lead_pos1

While Israel focuses on winning the war against Hamas, the U.S. has been pressing for commitments on what will come next. Speaking in Tokyo last week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken laid out five “Nos”: “No forcible displacement of Palestinians from Gaza. . . . No use of Gaza as a platform for terrorism or other violent attacks. No reoccupation of Gaza after the conflict ends. No attempt to blockade or besiege Gaza. No reduction in the territory of Gaza.”

If only the Biden Administration had that many red lines for Iran. The Secretary of State might also recall that the postwar U.S. occupations of Japan and Germany continued into the 1950s and included territorial adjustments.

Mr. Blinken followed his five “Nos” with three “Musts”: the way forward to peace “must include the Palestinian people’s voices and aspirations at the center of postcrisis governance in Gaza. It must include Palestinian-led governance and Gaza unified with the West Bank under the Palestinian Authority. And it must include . . . a pathway to Israelis and Palestinians living side by side in states of their own, with equal measures of security, freedom, opportunity and dignity.”

It is sensible to think ahead but premature to give marching orders for the harmonious future. Israel still has intense urban fighting ahead. What happens after Hamas’s command center underneath al-Shifa Hospital falls? Will a terrorist insurgency persist in Northern Gaza? How will Israel root out Hamas from Gaza’s south, to which most civilians have fled?

The answers can’t help but affect how Gaza will be governed. “The reality,” Mr. Blinken acknowledged on questioning, “is that there may be a need for some transition period at the end of the conflict” in which Israel keeps some control. This is essentially what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had said earlier: “I think Israel will, for an indefinite period, have the overall security responsibility because we’ve seen what happens when we don’t have it.”

If Israel isn’t taking on the terrorists, who will? The rush to empower “the Palestinian people’s voices” after Israel left Gaza in 2005 saw Gazans elect Hamas in 2006. The Palestinian Authority hasn’t held another election in the West Bank, knowing Hamas could win there, too.

www.verygoodnewsisrael.blogspot.com

Israel has a diverse and dedicated citizen army defending historical truth against enemies with fanatical hatred. Behind the headlines is a remarkable democracy. Michael Ordman, to his enormous credit, brings us positive news even during a war. rsk

 
Unexpected heroes. One website containing the stories of 27 Israeli citizens who were thrown into life-saving situations on Oct 7.  https://www.israel21c.org/unexpectedheroes/
 
Angels in orange. So many stories about United Hatzalah EMTs who rescued dozens of wounded Israelis on Oct 7.  Some were too harrowing for this newsletter.  At least these ones have positive endings. Since Oct 7, UH EMTs have treated thousands, evacuated hundreds, delivered tons of medical supplies, and much more.
https://israelrescue.org/stories/emt-reunites-with-policeman-he-saved-in-under-fire-rescue/
https://israelrescue.org/stories/jewish-emt-reunites-with-muslim-bedouin-father-and-son-he-rescued-following-october-7th-hamas-attack-that-killed-the-mans-wife/
 
How Kfar Maimon was saved. On Oct 7, dozens of Hamas terrorists invaded the fields of Kfar Maimon, a religious Moshav about 5km from Gaza. They made the mistake, however, of shooting down a passing low-flying helicopter. It was carrying Israeli paratroopers who exited unhurt and eliminated the terrorists.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/379945
 
IDF base reopens. The Nahal Oz surveillance control center overrun by Hamas terrorists on Oct 7 has been reopened at a temporary site on the Re’im army base 2km south of the original base. The (mostly female) surveillance soldiers belong to the Intelligence Corps as did hostage Ori Megidish who was rescued from Gaza.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/a-story-of-heroism-and-fighting-army-reopens-surveillance-center-raided-by-hamas/
 
Natebuzz is in Israel. Australian actor Nate Buzolic (natebuzz on Instagram with 3.4 million followers) is in Israel for the 26th time. He founded Rova Media 3 weeks ago and has partnered Rabbi Ari Lamm (grandson of former YU chancellor Rabbi Norman Lamm) to change Israel’s poor online image for the younger generation.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/aussie-influencer-natebuzz-in-israel-to-fight-social-media-battle/  
https://www.instagram.com/rovamedia_/ https://www.youtube.com/@RovaMedia
https://www.instagram.com/natebuzz/
 
Protecting civilians in Gaza. Finally, a positive Israel story from the BBC. How Israeli intelligence worked with a Gazan dentist to ensure that hundreds of Gaza civilians were unharmed as the IDF prepared to bomb tower blocks housing Hamas terrorists.  https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-67327079
 
215 Bnei Menashe make Aliyah and join IDF. Since Oct 7, 75 members of the Bnei Menashe community from India have made Aliyah and joined IDF combat units. Another 140 new Olim have joined the reserves.
https://israfan.com/2023/11/07/from-india-to-israel-the-brave-bnei-menashe-joining-israels-defense/
 
Miracle births. (TY Ari) On Oct 7, Hevda Malca was in a safe room in Sderot while Hamas terrorists were rampaging outside. Her sister-in-law Ayala Shlomo was in a safe room in Kiryat Gat when a Hamas rocket hit their house. Both Ayala and Hedva have just given birth at Laniado hospital in Netanya.
https://newsrnd.com/news/2023-10-27-life-is-stronger-than-everything–on-simchat-torah-hide-from-the-missiles—this-week-they-gave-new-life-%7C-israel-hayom.rJk12LFGp.html
 
 
ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
 
Successful trial of heart support device. (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s Magenta Medical (see here previously) reported positive results in a 15-patient trial of its Elevate System. The percutaneous Left Ventricular Assist Device (pLVAD) supports circulation in high-risk percutaneous coronary interventions (HR-PCI).
https://www.prnewswire.com/il/news-releases/magenta-medical-reports-positive-results-for-us-early-feasibility-study-of-elevate-heart-pump-in-providing-temporary-mechanical-circulatory-support-during-high-risk-pci-procedures-301968986.html
 
Long-term relief from migraines. (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s Theranica (see here previously) has reported successful long-term use of its Nerivio Remote Electrical Neuromodulation (REN) device for 409 migraine sufferers in the US. It consistently gave pain relief, functional disability relief and freedom.
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-study-demonstrates-consistent-positive-long-term-adherence-and-efficacy-of-nerivio-for-treatment-of-migraine-301966050.html
 
AI to develop new therapies. (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s Can-Fite (see here previously) is developing small molecule medicines that address oncology and inflammatory diseases. It has partnered with Collaborations Pharma to use AI and Machine Learning techniques that significantly reduce development time and costs.
https://ir.canfite.com/news-events/press-releases/detail/1032/can-fite-to-harness-artificial-intelligence-to-develop