Why Israel must destroy Hamas once and for all

Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari has been trending on X this week. He's the spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces. You've possibly seen him in press conferences, interviews, and video clips trying to show the world what Gaza really is like — the terror tunnels under the houses and the streets, hundreds of miles long, filled with weapons and workshops and schools.

He talks about the ties between United Nations facilities and Hamas, the command posts under the hospitals, missile launchers in residential neighborhoods. He’s done incredible work exposing the true nature of Hamas and the war, and he seemed really solid — until this week.

Hamas is not just an idea. It’s not just an entity now. It’s a government!

In an Israeli TV interview he said that it’s impossible to destroy Hamas because “Hamas is an idea.” I want to touch on a few serious problems I have with his statement.

First, Hamas isn’t just an idea. Ideas grow and grow until they become almost an entity. Hamas is the demonic embodiment of the continuation of timeless, ageless hate. It is a culture of death and child sacrifice. It is one of the worst evils humanity has ever produced.

Nazism was more than an idea articulated in Adolf Hitler’s “Mein Kampf.” Joseph Stalin’s Soviet Union was more than Marxist ramblings. Yes, all the ideas were at the core of these regimes, but ideas are embodied and adopted by people, who turn them into entities.

Should we have given up on eradicating the Nazi part of Nazi Germany? Should we have stopped at Berlin’s gates? Should we have allowed Stalin to take over the world? Should we end all policing — like they’re starting to do here in America — because someone will always steal and murder?

I'm up here in the Mountain West, and we just mowed the front of the lawn so no rattlesnakes come up close to the house. There will always be snakes — but does that mean we shouldn't at least try to keep the snakes away? Couldn't we at least remove the snakes that are right at the feet of our children? Or will you just say, "There are always snakes, so there's no point."

Are you seriously suggesting that we would be better off had we left the Nazis in power, or if the USSR hadn't lost the Cold War? The ideas behind these evil regimes are not dead, and maybe they will never be. But Nazi Germany is dead. The USSR is dead. And the world is immeasurably better for it.

How about Hamas? It’s not just an idea. It’s not just an entity now. It’s a government! Should we not try to take out every last member, deny it both rule over territory, and eliminate its ability to harm anyone ever again? Do you think that when Hamas is done with Israel, it'll stop with the Jews?

I believe Hagari's statement is a huge boost to Hamas’ morale — along with its friends in Hezbollah and Iran — and poison for Israeli morale. What does that communicate to IDF soldiers when one of their leaders says they are fighting a war they cannot win? If you’re fighting and don’t believe that you can and will prevail, then you will not prevail.

Think about all of those who have fought and died and bled, the hundreds of thousands of Israelis still displaced from their homes almost nine months in, the millions who fear and pray for their relatives and friends in uniform, the millions more who understand that if Hamas doesn't die today, if they don't take out this snake and mow the lawn, it will come back tomorrow — and maybe bring some friends. Maybe next time will be even worse than the last.

Was his message approved by his government? Because the government is supposed to be in control of the army, and the security cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has defined the destruction of Hamas military and governing capabilities as one of the goals of the war. The IDF, of course, is committed to this.

The rear admiral’s message should terrify everybody, not just Israelis. At best, this is just politics. Israelis trust the IDF to the rank of colonel. Anybody above that is a political appointment. They don't trust them just like we don't trust ours. We trust our soldiers, but when you get to the top of the Pentagon, it’s all politics. The same thing applies to Israel’s military.

At worst, this is a sign of one more very serious breakdown in the West's moral fiber. This isn't about refugees. This isn’t about territory. This is about good versus evil. This is about the existential questions facing our civilization, not just for Israel but for the West. The West is riddled with supporters of Hamas and their clones. They’re marching in our own streets!

Do you think a re-energized Hamas is good for America? Our common enemies are openly stating their intention to take down the great Satan. They say Israel is the little Satan. We are the great Satan, and they will soon come for us, too. If Israel fails in this war, the world will be darker for it. But it will not stop there. They will come for the rest of us. We must stand. We have to take out the monsters and defend the house.

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