Meir Ben Shbbat: First and foremost, we must rejoice at the return of each of the hostages. “On the other hand, the costs and risks must not be obscured. Their presentation is required not to derail the deal or to bicker about it, but to look squarely at the challenges and risks that follow in its wake.

The agreement will encourage Hamas and signal to the population that he was and remains the master. He may be beaten and wounded, but is still setting the terms.

Published in Arutz 7, January 17, 2025.

Brig. Gen. (res.) Yossi Kuperwasser: Unlike the reality under U.N. [Security Council] Resolution 1701 before the [Swords of Iron/Northern Arrows] war, when we refrained from striking Lebanon, now we strike if the Lebanese Army fails to fulfill its obligations. We will report violations to the monitoring committee, and if they act, excellent. If they do not act, we will act ourselves.

Can this be done 100%? No, because some of these villagers are Hezbollah operatives, and they live in these villages. But it must be insured that there is no Hezbollah presence—in the form of armed Hezbollah operatives—in these places.

The hope is that the Lebanese Army, especially now that there is a new president and a new government in Lebanon, will fulfill its duties. But we have not yet seen a sufficiently effective deployment of the Lebanese Army.

Dr. Yossi Mansharof: The IDF is essentially enforcing the ceasefire without the monitoring mechanism fulfilling its mission or enforcing the ceasefire itself. The Lebanese Army is not addressing the information transferred by the IDF regarding Hezbollah’s presence south of the Litani River. The Americans are determined to continue with this outline, and therefore, it seems that the best Israel can do is reconsider whether it can withdraw from areas it took from Hezbollah, which should be a significant bargaining chip in applying the ceasefire agreement.

Israel is expected to face international, and particularly American, pressure, referring to a statement made by U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein during a recent visit to Beirut, in which he reiterated Washington’s commitment to ensuring the IDF’s full withdrawal by Jan. 26.

Published in JNS, January 17, 2025.

Arsen Ostrovsky speaking on Sky News Australia, about the reported hostage – ceasefire deal: These are difficult hours and days. There were no easy choices, only painful decisions. Israel essentially had to make a deal with the devil in order to get our hostages out. But it only underscores that whereas the Jewish state places the ultimate prerogative on life, Hamas places theirs on death.

January 16, 2025.

Brig. Gen. (res.) Yossi Kuperwasser: The agreement ends the war without explicitly saying so. Hence, Hamas has achieved its goal, and Israel is completing the process of paying the price for the blunder of October 7th.

Published in The Media Line, January 16, 2025.

Prof. Kobi Michael: It was a very significant change in the Israeli military approach, to fight in the most fortified the area in the world with an underground web of 700km of tunnels.

Critically in Gaza, the plan was launched into action against what Israel saw in Hamas as a very well-organised, well-established, well-equipped and trained terror army of a semi-state entity.

Published in The National, January 15, 2025.

 Prof. Kobi Michael: Today’s Hamas is not the Hamas of Yahya Sinwar. I am not sure they even have control over their own people, let alone the other organizations operating in Gaza. At its core, Hamas is skilled at manipulating the Israeli side, and we must anticipate such actions and not allow them to toy with us. We must respond immediately when we detect the first manipulation.

We also have to assume that Hamas will make every possible effort to rebuild their military capabilities, and we must strengthen our capacities from an intelligence standpoint.

The interview took place on Channel I24 on January 13, 2025.

https://youtu.be/rRVqypvbtaQ

Prof. Kobi Michael: I think it’s more than dozens. I think we’re talking about a few hundred rockets. We have to remember that Hamas prepared in advance for launching very large barrages at Israel, and hence, many rockets were prepared ahead of time,” including in underground locations and in orchards, he told JNS.

Currently, the vast majority of the Hamas and PIJ arsenal has been destroyed. Some of its precious few remaining rockets are being launched as IDF forces close in on them.

While Hamas retains small arms, TNT, and, potentially, the capacity for extremely restricted rocket production, Compared to what they had in October, and even after Oct. 7, we’re talking about completely minimal capabilities.

Published in The Algemeiner, January 24, 2025.

Prof. Kobi Michael told The Post that Trump’s re-election might be a great opportunity to bring about peace in the region following the widely acknowledged success of the Abraham Accords from the 45th president’s first term.

We see the impacts of President-elect Trump before he enters the White House. We see what is going there with Hamas, when President Trump said that they will see ‘hell’ if they will not release the hostages — and see what is going there with the Iranians,” said Michael, former head of the Israeli National Security Council’s Palestinian division.

“They are in a huge confusion now, OK? In the worst strategic position in the last four decades. And I think that the vision of President Trump is the vision of weakening Iran.

Published in New York Post, January 10, 2025.

Ruth Wasserman Lande: A new world order is in formation. The equation has become – radical Islam vs the rest of the world. In order to remedy an illness, there is a dire need to diagnose it correctly. ⁦

The interview took place at I24 on January 9, 2025.

Prof. Kobi Michael: I cannot foresee significant progress until President Trump assumes office. While I hope my assessment is wrong, based on my understanding of Hamas and the present situation, I do not believe we will see any breakthroughs in the near future.

Published in AFP, January 09, 2025.