Professor Elisha Haas said Israelis may feel disappointed by the current pause in fighting, but he argued that Israel is in a far stronger position today than it was on October 7, 2023. He pointed to unprecedented US-Israel military cooperation, major Israeli gains in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria, and the removal of several immediate strategic dangers.

At the same time, Haas warned that Washington must understand the Middle East is not Europe or America. In his view, negotiations with the Islamic Republic of Iran cannot be handled with Western assumptions about compromise, trust and goodwill. He argued that Israel’s enemies interpret pauses and withdrawals as weakness, not diplomacy.

His central warning was that stopping the war in Lebanon or Gaza halfway would invite the next attack. Haas said Hezbollah’s infrastructure in southern Lebanon must not be allowed to return, and that Gaza must never again be restored to the pre-war reality that enabled Hamas to launch October 7.