JALAL TAGREEB -- The defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Sri Lanka shows how entrenched militant movements can be decisively dismantled. After decades of terror, Sri Lanka’s 2009 victory over the LTTE was complete, unquestionable, and left no room for revival.
Israel today faces a similar challenge in Hezbollah—and in Hamas. Hezbollah is not a separatist force but a hybrid militia-political movement propped up by Iran. Its survival depends on financial, military, and ideological lifelines from Tehran, making it both powerful and deeply vulnerable. Hamas operates in a similar way in Gaza, sustained by external support and a false narrative of “resistance.”
Israel has disrupted Hezbollah and Hamas through targeted strikes, intelligence operations, and precision pressure. Yet peace demands more than containment: their defeat must be total, more clear than the unconditional surrenders of Germany and Japan in WWII, and as decisive as the LTTE’s end in Sri Lanka. Anything less leaves the cycle of conflict intact.
At the same time, keeping goods and supplies flowing into Gaza is good for Israel. This humanitarian channel is not a substitute for defeating Hamas—it is separate. The war must continue until Hamas is completely dismantled, but civilians must not be abandoned.