The Lion of Judah Unleashed

Hamas’ terrorist attack shattered Israel; it also shattered Israel’s precedents for fighting terrorism. As Hamas has refused to free its hostages, it has also increasingly freed Israel from prior restraints on using its superior military force.

A year ago, Hamas’ surprise act of terrorism indiscriminately targeted every Jew it found. Twelve hundred men, women, and children were murdered; hostages were taken; unspeakable atrocities were committed. All were conscious and premeditated. These were not collateral casualties; they were the attack’s intent.

Unbelievably, the isolation of Israel began almost immediately. Led by the Left, calls came for Israel’s temperance in response to terror. Somehow, Israel was cast as the aggressor; it only increased over time.

Day by day over 365 days, from Gaza to American college campuses, it became easy to get lost in the puzzle pieces and lose sight of its picture. Hamas had unleashed total war on Israel: it had done all within its power to do, to all it could manage to do it. There were no noncombatants; there were no civilians. No longer was this just the one-off act of terror that Israel had sadly become accustomed to, but, with hostages held and attacks continued, this was all-out, ongoing war. There were no longer norms, even within the unconventional ones of terrorism.

Israel has long had overwhelming military superiority. Time and again, it has responded with this in conventional wars. Israel’s enemies have therefore resorted to unconventional and immoral acts of terrorism to minimize their evil efforts. Israel has responded in kind to these isolated acts with isolated actions. Always the winner, Israel’s responses were limited in intensity and duration. In sum, Israel targeted terrorism’s appendage, not its body.

Over the last year, it has become clear that today’s Israeli response is different. It is not simply quantitatively so — lasting longer, extending further, and involving more resources. It is also qualitatively different. Israel is now going after Hamas’ entire terrorist infrastructure, wherever it is — even when embedded in civilian surroundings, as Hamas is wont to do. It is aimed at the body, not simply an appendage.

With hostages still held and rockets still launched, Hamas has allowed Israel to fully understand what it faces. And in the process, it has given Israel carte blanche freedom to respond.

Israel has shown an increasing willingness to strike Hamas where it is hiding, no longer waiting for it to emerge. Simultaneously, Israel is increasingly willing to use the full panoply of its military power — ground forces, airpower, espionage — and across an expanded theater of operations: no longer just in Gaza, but also in Lebanon and Iran.

Israel’s changed tactics also show a changed strategy. Israel is now willing to go to almost any length — and any location — to eradicate the terrorism threatening it. No one who participates in, or facilitates, this terrorism is safe or out of reach.

This changed Israeli strategy also undermines civilian support for terrorists operating in their midst. It does no less to the states sponsoring it.

Israel’s message to Iran is unmistakable. Israel has clearly demonstrated its ability to penetrate its enemies’ territory, defenses, and communications. These demonstrations give Iran a choice: stand down and desert its proxies or suffer something of their fate.

Both options threaten Iran’s credibility and stability. Deserting its proxies makes these groups question Iran’s implicit guarantee of support. Provoking an unwinnable conflict with Israel means risking an embarrassing defeat that undermines the Iranian regime’s ability to continue cowing its own citizens into submission.

Ironically, Hamas and its supporters have brought all this on Hamas. And on Hezbollah. And on Iran. Chants of “From the river to the sea” have made Israel understand negotiations’ limits. Those demanding nothing less than everything will never be satisfied with anything less, so there is little logic in making an offer of something. The Land for Peace strategy has become another casualty of Hamas. The idea of a Palestinian state seems remote when the prospect exists that such a state will turn over its government to terrorists.

Hamas and its supporters have first attacked and now vilified Israel to the point that Israel has nothing left to lose and nowhere left to turn but to its own resources. Hamas unleashed an unexpected terror attack, but in turn it precipitated Israel to unleash an unexpected response.

Israel is fighting the West’s war. However, the Arabs are only slightly less interested in seeing Hamas destroyed and Iran brought to heel — thereby destroying the terror in their midst that they cannot control — than is Israel itself.

All this has come from Hamas and its supporters … and from Israel refusing to suffer the sensibilities of those who themselves haven’t suffered.

READ MORE:

One Year Since Oct. 7, Iran Is in Israel’s Crosshairs

‘I Love You. See You Tomorrow’: Oct. 7, the Day My Life Changed Forever

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