Israel's Return to War, Victory or Vanquish?

IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir visits Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. March 18, 2025.

Israel stands on the precipice of a decisive victory over its adversaries. As the military campaign in Gaza resumes, Hamas finds itself with almost no options and even fewer allies. Its infrastructure is decimated and its argument that the war with Israel was over has been unraveled.

Meanwhile, the Houthis are preoccupied with their own battles against US forces. Hezbollah finds itself deeply wounded and withdrawn from southern Lebanon and Syria and unable to help Hamas. Similarly, Iran is in no position to help or support Hamas at this time.

Israel, undeterred, continues its operations in Gaza, while Hamas struggles to assert any meaningful control. This decisive shift is further reinforced by a looming geopolitical earthquake: the Saudi-Israel-US normalization deal.The Arab world is realigning, and Hamas – along with Iran and its proxies – can see the writing on the wall. Adding to this, in a stunning reversal, Cairo has agreed to allow up to half a million Palestinians to “temporarily” resettle in the Sinai.

This is more than just a policy shift. It is an admission that Gaza, as it once was, is no longer viable. This is no small concession.

At the core of this shift is the simple fact that as long as Hamas refuses to surrender hostages and relinquish control, no meaningful reconstruction in Gaza can take place. Israel has shown no indication that it will cease military operations while Hamas has shown no willingness to de-arm, evacuate, or return all the hostages.

Meanwhile, reports indicate thatSomaliland has agreed to take in Palestinian refugees, further eliminating the argument that Gaza cannot be emptied of its terrorist rulers. Slowly but surely, the pieces are falling into place for a long-term solution that neutralizes Hamas once and for all. With the newly appointed IDF chief of staff, Eyal Zamir, Israel is poised to complete its mission.

Paradoxically, the primary opposition to Israel’s march toward victory comes from within the country itself. Elements of the Israeli Left, segments of the retired military establishment, and certain political factions continue to resist the full realization of this military and strategic objective.

However, the return of 198 out of 250 hostages is a testament to the effectiveness of Israel’s operations and its willingness to engage in “deals” with its barbaric enemies to secure its people.

It is important for the whole society to recognize that the status quo of partial victories where reservists are required to return to the same positions every four to six years is untenable and is not fair to them or to Israeli society at large.

The broader strategic landscape only reinforces this total victory. The Trump administration’s unflinching support for Israel – its direct action against the Houthis in Yemen, its maximum pressure campaign on Iran, and its willingness to “open the gates of hell” on Hamas – has provided Israel with a perfect window to complete what it started.

It is no coincidence that Defense MinisterIsrael Katz has recently reiterated the message: If Hamas does not return every last hostage: “The gates of hell will open.”I

It is now clearer than ever that Hamas’s October 7 attack was not just an act of terror – it was an act of desperation. Hamas saw normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia coming and recognized it as the final nail in the coffin of the so-called “Arab-Israeli conflict.”

They understood what that meant for their prospects of realizing their dreams of destroying Israel; their brutal assault was a last-ditch effort akin to a Hail Mary pass in American football to stop it.

As events continue to unfold, Israel’s position continues to reveal itself. The world is witnessing the final unraveling of Hamas, the crumbling of Iran’s regional proxies, and the emergence of a new Middle East order. Israel is winning decisively.

The question that remains is whether Israeli society can realize this or will it allow for internal discord to squander what could be a defining victory. Israel is on the last leg of a long marathon and it needs to be patient to realize that the finish line is right around the corner.