2 Months Into War: Here’s Where Israel-Hamas Fight Stands

Dec. 7 will mark two months since Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 240 others hostage. 

Fighting between Hamas and Israel resumed Friday after the release of about 100 hostages during a weeklong cease-fire. As Israeli troops advance in Gaza, they are “constricting the size of ground they don’t control,” defense expert Robert Greenway says of the Israel Defense Forces. 

Israel is now advancing to conduct military operations in southern Gaza in addition to the north, and Greenway, director of the Center for National Defense at The Heritage Foundation, says that’s necessary because “you can’t have a sanctuary” region where the terrorists can remain. (The Daily Signal is the news outlet of The Heritage Foundation.)

Since the war began, Israel has carried out more than 10,000 strikes against Hamas. Key targets include everything from Hamas’ leadership to the tunnel infrastructure, he explains. 

While the war has continued between Hamas and Israel, hostile actors have attempted 75 attacks on American bases and assets in Syria and Iraq, Greenway says. The U.S. has responded with five strikes targeting terrorists and terrorists’ sites in the region.

During the cease-fire, the attacks came to a halt against U.S. assets in the region, indicating, according to Greenway, that Iran is directing the attacks against American military bases. 

“Only Iran paying a price will stop Iran issuing directions to conduct attacks,” Greenway says, adding that “everyone knows and accepts this, but the [Biden] administration [is] unwilling to do so because their policy has been to appease Iran to get better behavior.” 

Greenway joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” to explain how the U.S. should be engaged in the war and to share what is known about the hostages that have been freed and those still in captivity. 

Listen to the podcast below: