Among other things, Gantz told National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan that “ending the war without clearing out Rafah is like sending a firefighter to extinguish 80% of the fire,” Israel Hayom reported.
Israel Must Preempt Hezbollah
by Jonathan Spyer, JNS March 5, 2024
https://www.meforum.org/65635/
The IDF has registered significant tactical successes in the fighting since Oct. 7. Yet, the strategic scoreboard currently favors Iran.
When I was resident in northern Iraq in the summer of 2019, an Iranian acquaintance told me that in understanding the regional strategy of his country, I should bear in mind that while “other nations will kill you with iron, the Iranians will kill you with cotton.” The phrase stayed with me. I later learned that it is a famous Persian expression. In the context in which we discussed it, my friend wanted me to grasp the subtle, patient and slow moving nature of Iranian strategy in the Middle East. He also wanted me not to confuse patience with an absence of lethal seriousness of purpose.












A man carries aid distributed by Unwra in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on 3 March (AFP)
