“In Palestine Square in Tehran, a large screen keeps track of the number of days left until the destruction of Israel. The calculus is based on a 2015 prophesy by Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, that within 25 years, the Jewish state would disappear. Ever since Khamenei’s prediction, a digital clock has maintained the countdown.
The purpose of the war Israel is fighting on multiple fronts is to beat Iran’s doomsday clock.
The Hamas massacre of Oct. 7, 2023, gave new credibility to Khamenei’s prophesy. On that day, Israel’s military deterrence — essential for a besieged state surrounded by enemies aligned with Iran — collapsed. The shock of Oct. 7 went far deeper than Hamas’ atrocities. The most devastating blow in Israel’s history was delivered by its weakest enemy. Israel’s high-tech, state-of-the-art border was overrun by terrorists on tractors.
The Hamas massacre was a pre-enactment in microcosm of the destruction of Israel: the Israel Defense Forces in disarray, the government AWOL, civilians left to fend for themselves with pistols.
The strategic goal of Israel’s counteroffensive was to restore its shattered deterrence. Israelis across the political spectrum agreed that the first step was destroying Hamas’ ability to govern. Allowing the regime responsible for Oct. 7 to remain on Israel’s border would undermine Israelis’ belief in their ability to defend themselves while emboldening their enemies to commit further atrocities.
Destroying the Hamas regime meant denying it immunity. Terrorists would not be allowed to massacre Israeli civilians, cross back into Gaza and hide behind Palestinian civilians. Destroying Hamas’ capacity to govern required pursuing terrorists wherever they operated, including inside hospitals and mosques. It meant entering homes, many of them booby-trapped, and Hamas’ vast network of tunnels. The result was Israel’s most brutal — and most necessary — war.”
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