Why is It So Difficult for Israel to Decipher Hamas?

Hamas militants. Photo credit: Shutterstock / Abed Rahim Khatib.

As they were marching towards Jerusalem, the knights of the First Crusade lay siege to the city of Antioch in southern Anatolia from October 1097 to June 1098. They were approached there by envoys of the Fatimid dynasty ruling Egypt, who offered the Crusaders a plan to cooperate against the Seljuk state then in possession […]

The Hamas-Iran Relationship

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh meets with Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran, June 22, 2023. Photo credit: SalamPix/ABACA via Reuters Connect.

In the weeks since the Hamas massacre on October 7, pundits have debated whether or not Iran helped Hamas develop the plan for the terrorist assault and if Iran had foreknowledge of the attack. Citing a Hamas source, the Wall Street Journal reported that Iran helped plot the attack and that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard […]

Iran’s “Controlled Insurgency” against the US in Syria and Iraq

US soldiers in eastern Syria, 2019. Photo credit: ABACA via Reuters Connect.

In the immediate aftermath of Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7th and during Israel’s counter-offensive into Gaza, Iranian proxy militias in Iraq and Syria have escalated attacks on US positions in both countries. Fully 60 such attacks have taken place against US forces since October 7. 56 American personnel have suffered injuries in these attacks […]

Three Weeks of Ground War in Gaza

IDF troops in Gaza, Nov 12, 2023. Photo credit: EYEPRESS via Reuters Connect.

On Saturday, November 18, Israel’s war in Gaza reached its 43rd day and the ground offensive in Gaza has now reached its three-week mark. This war, Israel’s leaders say, is going to be long. But we are beginning to see the ground offensive reach a new phase. >> Reports from the Gaza Front: Read more from Seth […]

Biden’s Decision and the American Military Deployment

US President Biden delivers remarks as he visits Israel, October 18, 2023. Photo credit: REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein.

The profound strategic implications of the American support for Israel in the war against Hamas – including a significant US military deployment to the region (two Carrier Strike Forces and an Ohio-class nuclear submarine, as well as air assets), albeit for the purpose of deterrence rather than participation in the fighting – will fully manifest […]

China’s Turn Toward Antisemitism

Chinese President Xi Jinping. Photo credit: Kyodo via Reuters Connect.

“The United States as a nation has been severely kidnapped by political and other forces derived from Jewish capital,” thus said Dong Manyuan, the former Vice president of CIIS, the Chinese foreign ministry’s think tank, in a TV interview on November 1, in response to the interviewer claim that Jews “manipulate and control” 70% of […]

Petting Hamas While Killing Kurds, The Double Game of Turkish President Erdoğan

Turkish President Recep Tayip Erdoğan during the “Great Palestinian Rally” in Istanbul, October 28, 2023. Photo credit: REUTERS/Dilara Senkaya.

“We will tell the whole world that Israel is a war criminal. We are preparing for this. We will declare Israel a war criminal,” said Turkish President Recep Tayip Erdoğan during the “Great Palestinian Rally” that took place in Istanbul on October 28, exactly three weeks after Hamas murdered over 1400 Israeli and other citizens, […]

Initial Lessons From the October 2023 War

Israeli soldiers operate inside the Gaza Strip, November 2023. Photo credit: Israeli Defense Forces/Handout via REUTERS.

As these lines are being written, the war is ongoing and may yet intensify. It is perhaps too early to posit conclusive lessons at this stage. Therefore, I would qualify all of the findings below by suggesting that they must be put to the test of systematic criticism – alongside many of our military and […]

Latin American Views on the Gaza War Are in Flux

People hold signs reading "Gaza Free" and "Long live Palestine, beautiful, free and sovereign" at a pro-Palestinian march in Buenos Aires, Argentina, November 3, 2023. Photo credit: REUTERS/Tomas Cuesta

In the days and weeks after the October 7 terrorist attack and Israeli military response, some Latin American nations have distanced themselves politically from Israel. While views of the conflict are evolving, the Latin American public’s reliance on social media for news reports, amid relentlessly negative images of suffering in Gaza, has contributed to widespread […]