Regrettably, the only long-term solution for Israel’s safety is to destroy Hamas root and branch. Earlier cease-fires with Hamas were always matters of strategic convenience, which left Hamas with the option to rearm, regroup, and attack again. The stunning success of Hamas’s surprise attack makes clear that it is sheer folly to think that a cease-fire is feasible without unconditional surrender.

It should always be recalled that the Allies’ success pacifying both Germany and Japan after World War II required such a total housecleaning. It will be more difficult to obtain in the current conflict. The covenant of Hamas, conceived in 1988 and revised in 2017, enshrines the goal of “obliterating” Israel so that Palestine becomes an “exclusive” Muslim area. They mean every word of it.

None of the options is pretty for Israel. But either Israel makes Hamas pay the ultimate price, or Israel will remain in existential peril.