With the Final Hostage Home, Hard Work of Disarming Hamas Remains

A major chapter has ended in the war that began when Hamas invaded Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, with the burial of Ran Gvili, the final hostage whose remains were returned earlier this week from Gaza and buried today in his southern Israel hometown of Meitar.

Yet thousands of Israelis continue to be called up for reserve duty and the final aim of the Gaza war — disarming Hamas and demilitarizing Gaza — has yet to be achieved.

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Jonathan Ruhe, fellow for American strategy at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America, noted to Jewish Insider that the International Stabilization Force meant to deploy to Gaza as part of the ceasefire “still lacks a clear mandate, or the troops to fill it out.”

“Because Hamas won’t disarm peacefully, Arab and other Muslim countries consistently refuse to put their forces in harm’s way or risk causing collateral damage to Palestinian civilians,” Ruhe said. “The U.S. needs to adapt its strategy, which remains stuck on convincing Hamas to give over its weapons. Hamas thinks it won the war. … An emboldened and well-armed Hamas steadily undermines Trump’s plan of convincing international partners to invest their money and political capital in the hard work of building a new Gaza.”