Letter: Do Not Expect a Cease-Fire in Gaza

Dear Letter to the Editor:

The headline’s warning is absolutely correct. (“Column: Do Not Expect a Cease-Fire in Gaza to Cease Fire” boulderjewishnews.org February 29, 2024.) Hamas will “cease firing” only as long as a halt in the fighting serves its purposes – allowing its fighters to regroup and preventing Israel from completing the destruction of Hamas’ extensive network of terror tunnels. And, let’s face it – even when Hamas breaks the cease-fire, we are likely to see media reports stating that Israeli response to Hamas attacks is likely to lead to escalation of the conflict.

War is Hell and the deaths of civilians are always tragic. But Israel is facing an enemy which chose to spend a billion dollars in efforts to destroy the Jewish state instead of developing Gaza’s economy and building a Palestinian state in which the people living under Hamas administration could have become productive citizens. To prevent Hamas from making good on its promise to inflict more October 7’s on Israelis (and citizens of other countries who dared to travel to Israel for training in modern techniques in agriculture and water management, or for technical training, or for job opportunities, …) Israel needs to achieve a total victory in this war. Instead of calling for “cease-fires,” people who want to ease the suffering of the Palestinians should be calling on Hamas to release all hostages and surrender. Everyone should realize that demilitarizing Gaza and destroying the tunnels are complex operations that will take considerable time and effort to achieve. West Point expert explains Hamas tunnel system – The Jerusalem Post (jpost.com)

Toby F. Block
Atlanta, GA