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Israel must get on with it and finish the job by flattening Gaza
Dave Naylor
News Editor & Calgary Bureau Chief of the Western Standard
Source
date
FORMAT
Western Standard
May 27, 2025
Article
topics
National Security & Geopolitics
Extremism & Radicalization
Context
In this opinion piece, Dave Naylor recounts a classified screening provided to select Canadian media by the Israeli Defense Forces documenting the October 7 attacks. He describes graphic footage of killings, kidnappings, and violence carried out by Hamas in southern Israel, including at the Nova music festival and in multiple kibbutzim. The article argues that the scale and brutality of the attacks require decisive military action. Naylor contends that Israel’s prolonged campaign in Gaza should be concluded through overwhelming force to eliminate Hamas entirely, drawing comparisons to historical total-war strategies and criticizing international actors, including Canada, for urging restraint.
Key Insight
The article asserts that Hamas is an entrenched ideological and military threat that cannot be managed or deterred incrementally. Naylor argues that partial measures prolong conflict and risk future violence. In his view, only decisive military action aimed at eliminating Hamas’s governing and operational capacity can prevent recurring cycles of attack.
Implications For Canadians
For Canadian audiences, the piece raises questions about how democratic societies interpret proportionality, deterrence, and counterterrorism in asymmetric conflicts. It also highlights tensions between Canadian political responses and Israeli security perspectives, underscoring how foreign policy positioning and public discourse in Canada are shaped by differing assessments of threat, strategy, and moral responsibility.
Related Topics
Israel must get on with it and finish the job by flattening Gaza
Dave Naylor
May 27, 2025
Western Standard
National Security & Geopolitics
Extremism & Radicalization
In this opinion piece, Dave Naylor recounts a classified Israeli Defense Forces screening documenting the October 7 attacks. He argues the scale and brutality of the violence justify decisive military action and criticizes international calls for restraint.
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