Aaron

And I think there is also a growing sense among Israelis of how long can this really last? Does this war really still have a purpose or has it lost its way? I interviewed one reservist who described how he couldn't shake the feeling that Israel was sinking into the sands of Gaza. That...

it was sort of having its own Vietnam moment in the sense that the United States continued to fight the war in Vietnam well after many had concluded that the war fundamentally could not be won. At least some people have said that they no longer want to participate in the war because they feel that it no longer serves a purpose or because they've been worn down by hundreds of days of reserve duty.

it was sort of having its own Vietnam moment in the sense that the United States continued to fight the war in Vietnam well after many had concluded that the war fundamentally could not be won. At least some people have said that they no longer want to participate in the war because they feel that it no longer serves a purpose or because they've been worn down by hundreds of days of reserve duty.

I think that says a lot about you know, how, you know, it raises a yellow card to Israel's ability to continue fighting indefinitely.

I think that says a lot about you know, how, you know, it raises a yellow card to Israel's ability to continue fighting indefinitely.

So I think Israel does care about these concerns. At the end of the day, Israel is not a superpower. It relies on its allies. It needs diplomatic backing from the rest of the world. It relies extensively on the United States, its biggest patron.

So I think Israel does care about these concerns. At the end of the day, Israel is not a superpower. It relies on its allies. It needs diplomatic backing from the rest of the world. It relies extensively on the United States, its biggest patron.

And for all the bravado and bluster that we hear from Israeli leaders, I think they do recognize that they have to sometimes make concessions in the face of diplomatic pressure from abroad.

And for all the bravado and bluster that we hear from Israeli leaders, I think they do recognize that they have to sometimes make concessions in the face of diplomatic pressure from abroad.

So for example, Netanyahu, when he was justifying the decision to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza to his base, who had sort of criticized him from the right, he said, from a diplomatic perspective, not just practically in terms of the situation in Gaza, but also diplomatically, we can't allow things in Gaza to become catastrophic. We can't allow there to be starvation in Gaza.

So for example, Netanyahu, when he was justifying the decision to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza to his base, who had sort of criticized him from the right, he said, from a diplomatic perspective, not just practically in terms of the situation in Gaza, but also diplomatically, we can't allow things in Gaza to become catastrophic. We can't allow there to be starvation in Gaza.

And on one level, you have rhetoric. And then on another level, there's realpolitik and there's interests. And Netanyahu had to sort of walk a fine line between these different competing interests, both inside Israel and inside his own coalition, inside his own security establishment, and then also among his allies abroad.

And on one level, you have rhetoric. And then on another level, there's realpolitik and there's interests. And Netanyahu had to sort of walk a fine line between these different competing interests, both inside Israel and inside his own coalition, inside his own security establishment, and then also among his allies abroad.

So some officials have made exactly the latter argument. And that's what Netanyahu was saying. On Thursday night in Israel, he made a statement where he invoked the horrific shooting before pivoting to how Israel couldn't accept an end to the war before Hamas's total defeat.

So some officials have made exactly the latter argument. And that's what Netanyahu was saying. On Thursday night in Israel, he made a statement where he invoked the horrific shooting before pivoting to how Israel couldn't accept an end to the war before Hamas's total defeat.

And on the other hand, you also have some people on the left who look at this incident and they draw a totally different conclusion. From their perspective, it wasn't criticism of the war, which was making the world less safe for Jews and for Israelis. It's just the war, which has had a horrible toll and whose end, as far as all of us can tell, is still nowhere to be seen.

And on the other hand, you also have some people on the left who look at this incident and they draw a totally different conclusion. From their perspective, it wasn't criticism of the war, which was making the world less safe for Jews and for Israelis. It's just the war, which has had a horrible toll and whose end, as far as all of us can tell, is still nowhere to be seen.

Thank you, Rachel.

Thank you, Rachel.

We love alliteration. Your favorite. I do. Anthony Anderson.