On October 7th, Israel suffered the deadliest day in its history. Terrorists stormed across the border, murdering families, burning homes, kidnapping children and grandparents. It wasn’t a “conflict” or a “flare-up.” It was an existential attack aimed at Israel’s very survival.
That day made one truth undeniable: Israel cannot afford to “manage” Hamas. It cannot live with them as a permanent threat next door. Hamas is not interested in compromise. Its charter calls for Israel’s destruction. Every rocket, every tunnel, every massacre is aimed at that single goal. If Hamas survives this war, it will rebuild, rearm, and strike again. And if it can do October 7th once, it will try to do it again—only bigger.
Some well-meaning voices call for “ceasefire” or “restraint.” But history is clear: half-measures don’t work against enemies committed to your destruction. As historian John David Lewis argued in Nothing Less Than Victory, wars only end when aggressors are defeated decisively—so thoroughly that they cannot rise again.
Think of World War II. Nazi Germany was not bargained with. Imperial Japan was not appeased. They were crushed until their ideologies lost all credibility. That decisive victory made peace possible. Compare that to World War I, when Germany was left humiliated but not truly defeated. The ideology of hate survived—and twenty years later, it plunged the world into an even deadlier war.
Israel stands at the same kind of crossroads today. If Hamas is left standing, even partially, the message will be unmistakable: terror works. Massacres work. Kidnapping civilians works. That message won’t stop at Gaza. It will embolden Hezbollah in Lebanon, empower Iran, and inspire extremists everywhere who dream of Israel’s elimination.
But if Israel wins—if Hamas is dismantled completely—the opposite message is sent: terrorism fails. Murder fails. The dream of destroying Israel is over. That is the ground on which real peace can finally grow.
Victory doesn’t mean endless war. It means the end of war. It means security for Israel’s people and a chance for Palestinians to imagine a future without being ruled by a death cult that sacrifices their lives for its ideology.
Israel did not choose this war. But it must finish it. Nothing less than victory will do—because Israel’s survival depends on it, and because only victory can open the door to a genuine and lasting peace.