Can Hamas ever be defeated?

No matter how many times it is vanquished or decisively discredited, ‘Palestinianism’ persists as an ideology unwilling to die. Rooted in Muslim Arab nationalism, it remains fundamentally opposed to the very existence of Israel – a Jewish, liberal, and free state. Hamas, one of its most notorious champions, has in recent weeks orchestrated a carefully staged spectacle as it releases Israeli hostages from Gaza. Masked gunmen stood triumphantly, their performance captured in high resolution by cameras that had somehow survived the supposed genocide. The message was clear: this was a moment of victory, a display of strength. Never mind that Hamas had suffered catastrophic losses – its military infrastructure shattered, its leaders eliminated, its people’s homes reduced to rubble. What mattered was the illusion that they remained unbroken.

Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu’s extraordinary press conference on Tuesday may signal the war’s end. But while Trump articulated a clear vision for what comes next, he has yet to outline a strategy for getting there.