Shalom all,

The steady increase in the number of IDF deaths since the beginning of the ground offensive has now reached 170. The total number of IDF deaths since October 7th stands at 503. 

Hamas agrees to negotiations “in principle”, with demands. – Over the last couple of weeks Israel has been pursuing steps to bring Hamas back to the negotiating table. Hamas has repeatedly taken the position that it would not agree to renew negotiations unless there was a permanent ceasefire – a move which would bring the current Gaza War to an end. According to various media reports in the Hebrew media, Hamas is stepping back from its demand for a permanent ceasefire, but Hamas representatives say that Israel is leaking false information.

The latest update, according to a report The Times of Israel today (Saturday), is that Qatari mediators informed Israel “that Hamas “agrees in principle” to resume negotiations for the release of further hostages taken by the terror group during the October 7 atrocities, in exchange for a truce of up to a month in the Gaza Strip.” Although such a communication suggested progress in resuming negotiations, according to a senior Hamas official, the terrorist group continues to premise its willingness to renew negotiations on Israel’s agreeing to a permanent ceasefire.

The article in TOI further asserts that the head of Israel’s Mossad, David Barnea, submitted a proposal for the release of only 40 hostages, in exchange for the release of “Palestinian” security prisoners and a ceasefire of up to one month. The Qatari response: “We move from a freeze [in talks] to a situation that is very cold.” 

Israel is expanding the ground operation in the Gaza Strip and has succeeded to take control of large areas of the enclave, as well as destroy considerable numbers of the tunnel infrastructure. Its achievements have been remarkable, to say the least. Military leaders here say that the Hamas leadership has been seriously diluted and that the days of Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar and Mohammed Deif are numbered. But, we have also paid a painful price for the military advances in terms of IDF deaths and the thousands of soldiers who have been wounded.

I have not made it a secret that from my point of view, further negotiations with Hamas and with “Palestinian” Islamic Jihad, would be counter-productive to the goal of eliminating both the head and the capabilities of those terrorist organizations. The pressure on the Israeli government is considerable. Countries are condemning Israel for the number of civilian casualties in the Gaza Strip (based on unsubstantiated reports from the Hamas-controlled health department). And, from within our borders, the families of the remaining hostages are clamoring for Israel to make whatever deal is demanded of us in order to bring about the return of those who are still being held by the terrorists. 

The present proposal to sit down Hamas and renew negotiations is submitted by Israel. That, in and of itself, is problematic. A proposal to renew negotiations should have been made by Hamas, without any demand for a ceasefire. By Israel’s pursuit of Hamas, again through Qatar and with the help of Egypt, Israel demonstrates a weak position and shows itself vulnerable and willing to yield to terrorism. By agreeing to any kind of ceasefire, without the return of ALL of the hostages, Israel is walking back from its original position, in which it declared its twin goals of eliminating Hamas and returning the hostages. It boggles the mind that after almost three months of fighting, Israel would agree to negotiate for the return of less than one-third of the remaining hostages and agree to a cessation in the fighting for an extended period of up to a month. Such a delay would, effectively, end the war. It would halt the momentum and the motivation of the IDF to press on to victory and accomplish its stated goal of eliminating Hamas. Two thirds of the remaining hostages would still be held in captivity and further negotiations would be required to bring about their release, if ever. The holding of Israeli hostages is the “Ace in the hole” for the terrorists. In the end, Hamas will be able to accomplish its goal of causing all of the “Palestinians” to be released from Israeli prisons, including those found guilty of murder, as well as those who are serving several life sentences and those terrorists who were captured during the present war. Everyone here wants the hostages to be released. But, we still don’t even know how many of them are still alive, what their condition is, or even everyone’s name. We’re still trying to identity some of the bodies of those who were killed during the Hamas massacre, some of whom were burned beyond recognition. If we pursue this negotiation and agree to the demands of Hamas, then we will suffer defeat a second time – the first time being on October 7th.

In line with a potential renewal of negotiations, an article appeared in TOI a few days ago, which stated, in part, that in exchange for an agreement that would release all of the hostages. “Israel is reportedly weighing the option of not killing Hamas leaders in Gaza Yahya Sinwar and Muhammad Deif, if and when the opportunity arises, and instead handing them immunity of sorts and deporting them to Qatar or another country.”  While such a solution is far from ideal, it would at least accomplish one of Israel’s goals, namely: the return of ALL of the remaining hostages. It would also result in no more deaths of IDF fighters, who are pressing forward and looking in every nook and cranny to locate and eliminate Hamas terrorists, as well as to locate and destroy more of the terrorist tunnel infrastructure. Even though Sinwar and Deif would remain alive to attempt to organize more massacres against Israel, their days outside of the maze of tunnels in Gaza would be numbered. 

And then we have the Israeli left telling us to swallow our pride and end the war. – I try not to get embroiled in the “rightist” versus “leftist” camp. But, sometimes it is impossible to avoid. Ehud Olmert, who regrettably was a former Prime Minister of Israel during 2006-2009, during whose term in office the Second Lebanon War took place. He wrote an Opinion piece published in Haaretz two days ago (December 28th). In his totally negative arguments, many of which are directed against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he advocates to end the fighting and bring all of the hostages home, including soldiers and the bodies of Israelis held by Hamas for years. He begins his article with the following claim: “The odds of achieving the complete elimination of Hamas were nil from the moment that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared it the chief goal of the war. Even then it was clear to anyone who thought about it that the complete destruction of the terrorist organization is wishful thinking that is militarily unfeasible even under conditions unlike those that exist in the Gaza Strip.”

Olmert speaks about different military operations, from the time of the second intifada up to the fighting in 2021, asserting that they were not as impressive as the present war. But, he conveniently omits any reference to the Second Lebanon War, which was conducted under “his watch”, the results of which we are still dealing with today regarding Hezbollah. We could have severely weakened that terrorist organization, but Olmert put a stop to the IDF’s advancement and the war ended with a U.N. Security Council Resolution (#1701), which is being totaling ignored by Hezbollah.

In esence, he is telling Israel to do the same thing that happened back in 2006, when Israel was advancing against the Hezbollah in Lebanon. “I believe that the time has come for Israel to express its readiness to end the fighting. Yes, end the fighting. Not a pause and not a temporary cessation of two, three or four days. An end to the hostility – period. At that time, Israel will need to bring back the hostages, those who are alive and those who are dead. If we wait, it won’t be long before the only ones we can bring back will be the dead, because there won’t be any living ones. A cessation of hostilities must be conditioned on the release of all the hostages, every last one of them, the soldiers and the bodies of all those who have been held by Hamas for years. All of them.In exchange, Israel will have no choice but to release all the Hamas prisoners it holds.”

He goes on to say: “If there is no other way to bring the hostages home, there is no way to avoid a swap. The obligation of the State of Israel to those of its citizens who were abducted … is greater than the shame entailed in making concessions to Hamas.” Then, of course, he leads up to the contention that we have to negotiate with the “Palestinians” on the future of the Gaza Strip, with the mediation of Egypt. We’ve heard that before: Israel is urged to plan for the “day after”, to rehabilitate Gaza and then allow it to set up a “Palestinian” state, that would include the area of Judea and Samaria (“the West Bank”).

It appears that Olmert misses the point that the obligation of the State of Israel is to all of its citizens, not just to those who were taken hostage. The kind of concessions that he advocates would not only bring shame on us, as we would be yielding to terrorists, who are sworn to the ultimate destruction of Israel. It would also be an open invitation to terrorists of all kinds to kidnap one or more Israelis in an effort to achieve their goals vis-a-vis Israel. He also presumes that an end to the fighting will definitely result in a return of all of the hostages. In reading his Opinion piece, one would have to question what he is more opposed to – the war or to P.M. Netanyahu. We should be thankful that he doesn’t have the power or authority to put his opinions into practice.

Like a trampled spring and a polluted well, so is a righteous person who gives way before the wicked. (Proverbs 25:26)

Bless, be blessed and be a blessing.

Marvin