The Wider Middle East War That Only Hamas Wants 'The Middle East teeters on the brink of a ruinous all-out regional war. Yet Israel did not want a wider and high-intensity war. Iran-backed Hezbollah does not appear to have wanted a wider and high-intensity war. And Iran, too, appeared not to have wanted a wider and high-intensity war. Only Iran-backed Hamas wanted a full-blown regional war. It may well get its way.' Hamas started the war with a savage invasion of Israel on 10/7/23. 'Committed by its charter to Israel’s destruction, Hamas launched a savage attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, targeting mostly civilians and killing more than 1200, at least 32 of whom were Americans, and kidnapping more than 250, at least 10 of whom were Americans. Igniting a multi-front war belonged to “the contours of Hamas’s broader plan,” according to a November 2023 Washington Post assessment. Hamas’ aim was “not just to kill and capture Israelis, but to spark a conflagration that would sweep the region and lead to a wider conflict.” In a meeting convened by the New York Times with Hamas representatives in Qatar that also took place in November, Taher El-Nounou, a Hamas media adviser, said, “I hope that the state of war with Israel will become permanent on all the borders, and that the Arab world will stand with us.”' Hamas' entire game plan was to start a wide Mid East War. Hamas willingly sacrificed Gaza for the dreamed for wider war. 'Yahya Sinwar, recently named head of Hamas’ political bureau to replace Ismael Haniyeh who was killed in Tehran last week, recognized that Gaza Palestinians would pay a high price for Hamas’ success. In June 2024, the Wall Street Journal reported that the mastermind of the Oct. 7 attacks affirmed in emails to Hamas negotiators that the thousands of civilian deaths in Gaza involved “necessary sacrifices” for the sake of Israel’s annihilation.' Sinwar may not be long for this world. 'Writing to Hamas officials negotiating a cease-fire agreement, Sinwar also stated, “We have the Israelis right where we want them.”' 'That meant bogged down fighting Hamas militants dressed as civilians in and under Gaza’s cities. Sinwar also meant that the international media was playing its anticipated role by portraying Israel as responsible for the humanitarian disaster in Gaza. Civilian suffering in Gaza on a mass scale was a foreseeable – and intended – consequence of Hamas’ slaughter of Israeli civilians on Oct. 7 and of the jihadists’ determination, decades in the making, to unlawfully and inhumanely embed Hamas military forces in Gaza’s civilian areas, not least homes, schools, hospitals, and mosques. Sinwar may not have anticipated the resource, tenacity, and valor with which Israel would exercise its right to destroy Hamas’ capacity to wage war and govern, and to secure the hostages.' They describe Israel as being surrounded by a "Ring of Fire" - Hezbollah, Hamas, West Bank, Yemen and Iran. But Israel has been delivering hard punches to the "Ring of Fire" in carefully calibrated de-escalatory strikes. Read the whole thing and discuss.
