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From the cobblestone streets of Lefkara, Cyprusâwhere I spent the evening walking with my wife ConnieâIâm seeing firsthand how far the ripple effects of Israelâs war with Hamas have reached. Just this morning, I woke in Tel Aviv to the sound of sirens. It wasnât the first time. The Houthi rebels fired two missiles at Israelâone intercepted by Israeli air defenses, the other self-destructing before it even entered Israeli airspace.
âThatâs one of several hundred missiles fired since March,â I told my livestream audience. âBut none of them have hit anything of consequence. Israelâs air defenses are doing their job, and their response is as measured as it is relentless.â
Israel isnât merely retaliating. Itâs executing precision strikes aimed at dismantling Hamasâ infrastructure and cutting off Iranian supply lines. Just last night, Israeli drones targeted Yemenâs port of Hodeida, destroying heavy equipment that was being used to repair the port and allow more weapons shipments from Tehran.
âThey blew up the earth movers, the cranesâanything Iran could use to funnel arms to the Houthis,â I explained. âIsrael and its allies are making it harder for the Houthis to maintain their reign of annoyance over Israel. Thatâs really all it is at this pointâannoyance. But one that canât be ignored.â
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The Mediaâs Full-Court Press
While Israelâs military maintains the upper hand on the ground and in the air, itâs fighting an equally vicious battle in the court of global opinion. Twenty-eight nations recently signed a joint statement demanding Israel halt its offensive.
I asked viewers to consider the implications. âThink about what stopping the war now would mean,â I said. âNo hostages returned. Hamas stays in power. Another generation of terrorists grows up in Gaza. More Israelis murdered in the future. Thatâs what the world is asking for when they say, âStop the war.ââ
Itâs true, the suffering in Gaza is heartbreaking. But this suffering isnât arbitraryâitâs the direct result of Hamasâ actions. âThis is called consequences. Gaza still holds Israeli hostages. Until theyâre freed, pressure must increase. Only then can this end.â
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A Divided Island, A Divided World
Cyprus, where Iâm spending a brief layover, offers its own cautionary tale. The island has been divided since 1974, when Turkish forces invaded and occupied nearly 40% of the territory. Today, the Greek Cypriot side is prosperous and peaceful. The Turkish-occupied north? Struggling economically and rife with instability.