Israel needs to wipe out Hamas, regardless…

On Saturday evening, during a demonstration at Hostage Square in Tel Aviv attended by hundreds of people, Itzik Gvili, father of Ran, one of the hostages murdered by Hamas, made a very clear and indisputable point, as reported by The Times of Israel: “there must be no next phase to the current Gaza ceasefire and no “day after” until Hamas returns the two last bodies.”

As a matter of fact, the Palestinian terrorist organization still has to return the last two bodies: Ran’s and the one of Thai citizen Sudthisak Rinthalak.

Moreover, Itzik added: “Hamas says it’s looking, but we don’t see any progress. They’re messing with us, and it has to stop, now.”

The current situation was largely predictable. The first phase of the “Trump Plan,” which went into effect on October 10, was supposed to lead to the release of all hostages held by Hamas, dead and alive, within the first 72 hours. Hamas has delayed the release, justifying it by citing difficulties in recovering the bodies. However, it is clear that this is a deliberate delay, exploited by the terror organization to reorganize and attempt to strike Israeli troops along the Yellow Line; something that has occurred on several occasions. Furthermore, the Hamas leadership has repeatedly stated that it has no intention of disarming, as envisioned in the Trump plan.

Any disarmament, with Hamas excluded from any future prospects in Gaza in the so-called “day after,” should begin with the second phase of the plan, once all the hostages have been returned.

As Itzik Gvili rightly stated, the next phase must not begin without completing the first. This is especially true since Israel has already released Palestinian terrorists held in Israeli prisons, as agreed upon in Phase 1 of the plan.

If Hamas can afford to delay the handover of the remaining bodies by almost two months, it is because the necessary pressure has not been applied to its leadership abroad, which is well protected by Turkey and Qatar, regardless of the latter’s self-styled role as a “mediator.”

Trump and his envoys, Steven Witkoff and Jared Kushner, have every interest in keeping Qatar happy, with whom they get along well diplomatically and businesswise. It’s no coincidence that the so-called “gates of hell” that were supposed to be unleashed on Hamas, as Trump repeatedly threatened, should the first phase or a refusal to disarm, have never opened.

Meanwhile, the IDF has continued to strike Hamas terrorists in Gaza, but mostly in response to attacks from the Palestinian terrorist organization. What’s needed is a decisive offensive, which the IDF is fully capable of carrying out, and within a relatively short timeframe.

It’s clear to everyone Hamas must be neutralized once and for all, and its leadership abroad must also be rendered incapable of doing further harm, regardless of whether this pleases Qatar, Turkey, and, consequently, the Trump administration.

To this end, it’s worth remembering that the White House’s recent announcement designating the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization mentions the Egyptian, Jordanian, and Lebanese chapters, but makes no mention of Turkey and Qatar, the two main bases of the Muslim Brotherhood globally. It’s worth remembering that many of the Egyptian Brotherhood’s leaders took refuge in Turkey and Qatar after the Freedom and Justice Party lost power in 2012.

In short, Israel’s defense must be managed autonomously by Israel and cannot be delegated, even partially, to decisions made in Washington based on the interests of the Trump administration.

In conclusion, yes, Hamas is messing with Israel because the Palestinian terrorist organization knows it can afford to do so thanks to the situation involving the USA, Qatar and Turkey, and this will not bring any peace. It will only leave the door half open for more violence.