Cease the Day

“Israel has achieved all that it can militarily in the Gaza Strip, according to senior U.S. officials, who say continued bombings are only increasing risks to civilians while the possibility of further weakening Hamas has diminished. With the Biden administration racing to get cease-fire negotiations back on track, a growing number of national security officials across the government said that the Israeli military had severely set back Hamas but would never be able to completely eliminate the group.” With yet another (and maybe the most important) round of ceasefire talks taking place, the NYT (Gift Article) suggests US officials believe that In Gaza, Israel’s Military Has Reached the End of the Line. “One of Israel’s biggest remaining goals — the return of the roughly 115 living and dead hostages still held in Gaza after being seized in the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks — cannot be achieved militarily, according to current and former U.S. and Israeli officials.”