No one knows with any certainty what will become of the ceasefire agreement
The achievements of the IDF since the Simchas Torah massacre are both remarkable and insufficiently celebrated in Israel. In addition, the last two months of fighting in southern Lebanon and beyond have revealed the amazing siyata d’Shmaya that the Jews of Israel have experienced. On Simchas Torah 5774, Hezbollah possessed huge stockpiles of weapons along the border with Israel, a network of tunnels leading into Israel, and a well-trained army. Had Hezbollah not held back from joining Hamas’s attack, for reasons not fully understood, Israel would have found itself fighting a war deep in its own territory on at least two fronts. The IDF was totally unprepared for such a war.
Instead, consider the situation in which Israel finds itself today. The IDF is in full control of Gaza’s borders. By destroying the tunnels along the Philadelphi Corridor, the IDF has rendered Hamas incapable of rearming. At the same time, Israel has cleared a security zone along Gaza’s northern border, which makes a repeat of the Simchas Torah attack far less likely.
Hamas’s senior military leadership is decimated and much of its vast tunnel network under Gaza destroyed. Israel will not permit international funding to rebuild Gaza to be funneled through Hamas, which makes the reconstruction of that underground tunnel network impossible. And there are at least some signs that the population of Gaza is beginning to recognize the destruction that Hamas has brought upon them and seeks a future with some hope for better lives.
Meanwhile, a deal with Hezbollah means that the remnants of Hamas’s military wing are left to face the IDF alone, without hope of the IDF being distracted in the near term by the need to retain large forces in the north.
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