The decapitation strikes illustrate Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to inflict massive and lasting damage on Hamas. To head off any push for quick restraint, which would give Hamas a public relations victory and spare its leaders, Israeli officials told the Biden adminis­tration to buzz off. They want the freedom to act because they believe it is crucial that Hamas not only lose the war it started, but for its defeat to be widely seen and understood. Otherwise, the terrorists will gain stature and an incentive to do it again. To achieve that success, Israel needs sufficient time to smash the organization’s operating ability and destroy its arms cache. How much time is a guess, but it is probably a matter of days, not weeks.