Hamas is unlikely to release all of the hostages—alive or dead—making a second military confrontation between Israel and Hamas inevitable, according to Prof. Kobi Michael of the Misgav Institute for National Security & Zionist Strategy.
“If Israel does not implement its objectives and figure out the war against Hamas, which means that Hamas will not be [in Gaza] anymore as a sovereign power, we are going to face very challenging threats on all other fronts that were involved in this war,” Michael said.
Will Israel resume military action next week?
(Credit: ILTV)
He made these remarks during the latest episode of ILTV Insider, speaking against the backdrop of a recent U.S. State Department assessment that Hamas had reconstituted itself with as many fighters as before the war began. Additionally, scenes from recent hostage releases showed hundreds of Hamas members in uniform, reinforcing the notion that the terror group remains in control of the Gaza Strip.
However, Michael said he expects a different outcome this time. He noted that, in the early stages of the war, the Biden administration “actually tied one hand of Israel behind its back.” Now, he said, the U.S. is much more supportive of Israel’s efforts to eliminate Hamas.
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Michael also pointed to missteps by Israel’s military and political leadership early in the war, saying they erred by not reoccupying Gaza until Hamas was eradicated.
“Now, we are in a different position,” Michael said, “with a different administration, with a different experience, and with different military personnel. And I assume that even the relationship between the political and military personnel could be different.”
However, former Israeli Ambassador to Germany Jeremy Issacharoff agreed that Israel may need to continue the war but argued that this should not happen until all the hostages have been released and Israel can demonstrate that it has exhausted all possible diplomatic efforts to prevent further conflict.
“Our diplomatic situation in the world, and I've seen problems amid diplomatic circles, I think our situation today has become very, very negative,” Issacharoff said. “It is very concerning to me.”
Michael said that Israel can disregard European opposition to its fight against Hamas, emphasizing that American support is “much more important.”
Once Israel resumes the war—because, in his view, there is no other option — Michael believes “the rest of the world will follow America.”