Fear can and must change sides

The day after the catastrophe of October 7, 2023, Israel’s Prime Minister promised the nation that we would win the war, that the hostages would be freed, and that Hamas would be destroyed.

500 days later, considerable progress has been made by the IDF on all fronts: Gaza is in ruins, the Hamas forces have been decimated (albeit not annihilated), two-thirds of the hostages have been freed, and Israel has established effective control on all our borders and beyond. Nevertheless, Hamas still holds a considerable trump card in its hands: 70 hostages are still in captivity, with less than half presumed alive.

There’s also good news from Washington. All of Israel warmly applauded President Trump’s declarations of unwavering support for our country. His plan to empty Gaza of its Muslim population in order to eliminate any threat from the enclave, while ambitious and fraught with challenges could open up some exciting changes for all involved. Finally, the rockets have stopped raining down onto Israel, the northern front has calmed down considerably, and the Houthis and Iran are trying to make themselves forgotten. Given all that, it would be easy to get carried away by deceptive enthusiasm.

But let’s be clear, the war is far from over. The funerals of Oded Lifschitz Z’L and of Shiri, Ariel and Kfir Bibas Z’L bring us back to an extremely tragic reality. This barbaric, savage, inhuman enemy is always on the prowl, his goal remains the destruction of our country, Israel. The thinking behind the “sword of Damocles” [See note at the end of the article] idea presented here is that the utmost priority for Tzahal, the government, indeed the whole country, is to never again allow hostages to be taken captive by our enemies.

Many commentators on the web and in the media have noted a troubling similarity between our current situation and the discussion between G-d and Abraham that preceded the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 18 16:33). Given the massive, active and enthusiastic support of the Gazan population for Hamas atrocious behavior, it is clear that there are no innocent civilians in Gaza, no Righteous Ones in the words of our patriarch Abraham. This is an essential element in support of the ideas developed below.

Israel is still seeking complete and lasting peace with its enemies. Realistically, this is not going to happen anytime soon. So, in the meantime, ISRAEL’S DISSUASION POWER MUST BE RESTORED, AND FEAR MUST CHANGE SIDES.

To achieve this, Israel’s posture, instead of just being defensive, must become “defensive-aggressive”, with a giant “sword of Damocles” hanging ominously 24/7 over all those enemies around us.

Let me explain:

The enemy and the world must learn that every aggression on any part of our country, every attempted attack, will be immediately punished in an inescapable, lethal, automatic and unconditional way, with no consideration for eventual collateral damages.

Example number 1: Israel establishes, unilaterally, if necessary, a no-man’s-land of 1 or 2 kilometers or more outside all our borders. These buffer zones are patrolled by heavily armed drones, pointed to by ground-to-ground batteries and other RPGs, and scrutinized by sophisticated surveillance equipment. The slightest intrusion inside these buffer zones will be unconditionally considered hostile and will be destroyed immediately, massively and totally, with no human intervention to dampen the aggressiveness of this response. The message is clear: if you so much as set a toe in this no-man’s-land, you’ll die.

Example number 2: A missile is fired from anywhere in enemy territory, with no other limitation than the range of our weaponry. We know that the Iron Dome system, among others, is capable of immediately detecting such launches. Upon detection, a missile (or more, if necessary) will land in a matter of seconds, precisely on the firing point, causing massive destruction. If the firing point is in a mosque, a building or any other civilian area, any collateral casualties (which really would be “human shields”) are 100% the enemy’s responsibility. No human intervention is required. The system is triggered automatically and immediately.

Israel undoubtedly already has the building blocks for implementing this system. Nevertheless, the initial set-up of such a system will be costly: many additional drones and other artillery platforms will be needed, as only complete coverage will be effective. The same applies to computer programs, both conventional and AI, and surveillance equipment.

Many other technologies could increase the effectiveness of this “sword of Damocles”, making it utterly terrifying for our enemies. The use of artificial intelligence in this system will undoubtedly be necessary. No need to elaborate further. But the five attributes identified above must be maintained to achieve our goals: Immediate, Unstoppable, Lethal, Automatic, Unconditional.

The young observers – bless their memories – who were decimated by the enemy on October 7 did an admirable job, they went down in history as Israel’s heroes. But the delays in communication, the hesitations in the decision-making process, and other errors for which they are not at all responsible, have shown that our country’s defense system has no place for such delays, errors and hesitations.

The whole world, including and especially our enemies, will be warned that this “sword of Damocles” has been put in place, and will therefore be made to face up to their responsibilities. For sure, our enemies will test the system, but if the results live up to our expectations, i.e. if they suffer crippling losses at every attack or penetration attempt, they will soon realize that they have everything to lose.

It will be important to ensure that nothing in this “sword of Damocles” limits the scope of decision-making and the mode of action of the government or the IDF. Tzahal and all other Israeli security forces have their own government-mandated agenda and priorities. They are the best at what they do. The “Sword of Damocles” system will free up some defense bandwidth and render the security forces even more efficient.

President Trump and his entire administration would undoubtedly support the strategy described here. Who could object to the implementation of a better defense system? Hamas is sensitive to any external threat, American or Israeli. A system such as the one advocated here will exert a pressure on Hamas from which it will never be able to free itself, and in my humble opinion will contribute to the achievement of a lasting peace. A peace under extreme pressure, but a peace nonetheless.

All Gazans, without exception, need to know that this terrifying system is always present over their heads, watching them constantly, day and night. They even need to hear it, so that they never forget it (why not additional drones whose only role is to maintain a permanent noise in the skies over Gaza?) To conclude, will such a system turn fear around? I think so: it will smother the offensive impulses of our enemies, and at the same time, בע “ה, it will enable all Israelis to live more peacefully under a renewed deterrent system.

[explanatory note]: The expression “Sword of Damocles” has also come to be used in describing any situation infused with a sense of impending doom, especially when the peril is visible and proximal—regardless of whether the victim is in a position of power. United States President John F. Kennedy compared the omnipresent threat of nuclear annihilation to a sword of Damocles hanging over the people of the world. [source: Wikipedia]