Israel Must Enter Rafah to Defeat Hamas and Prevent Future Terror Attacks

I say this not to make a grand emotional gesture, but to point out that as someone with countless family and friends in the region — and who visited Israel as recently as December — I’m all-too aware of what’s at stake, both for Israelis and Palestinians. And that is exactly why I believe Israel must carry out its mission against Hamas to the fullest, including in Rafah.

How soon the Israel Defense Forces should move into Rafah is up for debate. So too is how Israel can simultaneously best protect innocent Gazans. (Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly emphasized that a major incursion into the southern Gaza city will come alongside a plan to evacuate civilians from Rafah; on March 13 the IDF announced it would direct displaced Palestinians in Rafah toward “humanitarian islands” in central Gaza.)

But what is clear is that Israel’s mission to end Hamas’ rule in Gaza will be incomplete if it leaves Hamas’ Rafah battalions intact. This would be a disaster for Israelis, Palestinians, and their Arab neighbors alike.

Israel’s conduct in this war has always been motivated by the understanding that, after inflicting the atrocities of October 7, Hamas cannot remain as a ruling military power on the Jewish state’s border.

The rationale was never revenge, nor perpetuating Netanyahu’s rule. (Contrary to misconceptions in the West, Israelis overwhelmingly support the war effort despite their simultaneous disdain towards their prime minister). Israelis recognize, as Amir Tibon of the staunchly left-wing Haaretz put it, that “a country that doesn’t retaliate in the most forceful way after terrorists kidnap an eight year old from her bed, simply won’t exist. Especially not in the Middle East.”

But it’s not just Israel’s future that relies on toppling Hamas. As long as Hamas retains power in Gaza, Palestinians will never have their own state. Israel’s presence in the West Bank, and all its accompanying injustices, will continue, with Israelis refusing to risk the West Bank — which overlooks Israel’s major population centers — being taken over by Hamas. (As a reminder, Hamas has consistently declared its intention to repeat the October 7 massacre until it eliminates the Jewish State.)

As The Times of Israel’s Haviv Rettig Gur recently observed, Israel leaving Gaza without uprooting Hamas from Rafah would prompt a “Taliban retaking of Afghanistan moment” in the enclave, dooming Israelis and Gazans to further rounds of brutal fighting.

As for Lebanon, Hezbollah, whose training and firepower make Hamas look like amateurs, would understand that Israel, lacking the resolve to destroy Hamas, will be similarly unable to prevent Hezbollah from setting Tel Aviv and Jerusalem on fire. And if you think Israel’s response in Gaza has been ferocious, just watch what happens to Beirut when Hezbollah begins bombing hospitals and schools in Tel Aviv.

That’s to say nothing of Yemen’s Houthis, and the numerous other terror groups throughout the Middle East — all backed by Iranian ayatollahs who thrive on regional instability. It was not for nothing that, on October 10, US President Joe Biden declared “to any country, any organization, anyone thinking of taking advantage of the situation. I have one word: Don’t.”

Put simply, Israel’s failure to overthrow Hamas in Gaza has the potential to set the region alight.

While we’re here, it’s worth noting that the intensifying calls for Israel to end its war have little connection to Israel’s conduct in Gaza, and much more to do with society’s preference for dead Jews over Jews who fight back. A quick test: if you’ve only discovered your dismay at the destruction caused by urban warfare now that Jews are involved, ask yourself why.

Indeed, what we are witnessing today is a repeat of the same phenomenon that has occurred in every Gaza war since Hamas took power in 2007: the world has never allowed Israel to unequivocally win. The only way for this vicious cycle of violence to end is to reverse that trend, and let Israel topple Hamas.

Calling on Israel to stay out of Rafah may seem like the humanitarian thing to do. The number of deaths is tragic; the suffering of those still alive is horrible. But as Haviv Rettig Gur explained, “if Hamas remains standing” in Rafah, “then the entire war will have been for nothing.” All those Gazans and Israelis will have died in vain. And the world, having pressured Israel to abandon its war, will be to blame.

Josh Feldman is an Australian writer who focuses primarily on Israeli and Jewish issues. Twitter: @joshrfeldman