Question

Again, the comments didn’t work. I’d appreciate it if you could just copy this into the thread. Here is the comment:
I gave you an example from the strongest army in the world, which fought for 15 years against a not especially impressive guerrilla organization. During that time the U.S. used far more violent tactics than we have used (indiscriminate bombings, burning entire villages with their inhabitants, use of chemical and biological weapons), tactics that even you would say were excessive. And still it lost. Do you really still think that if we keep fighting, or if we change the tactics to more violent ones, Hamas will simply surrender?
Of course, it makes much more sense if you say that it is much safer for the IDF to be inside the Strip than outside the Strip. But to say that if we keep fighting Hamas will surrender unconditionally and hand over the hostages or lay down its arms—that is simply messianic fantasy.