Weekly Spokesletter: Finally, Gazans demand Hamas surrender
This war could have ended 18 months ago if Hamas Gaza had accepted what many Gazans are demanding now
Dear Global Spokescommunity,
Something remarkable is happening in Gaza.
Eighteen months after Hamas launched the October 7 War, eighteen months after polls showed the October 7 Massacre was overwhelmingly popular among Palestinians, many Gazans are—at last—realizing it was a mistake.
Gaza has been engulfed by public protests, embracing Israel’s core demands:
✅ Hamas must relinquish power
✅ Hamas must lay down its arms
✅ Hamas must free the hostages
It has taken far too long, but the message is sinking in.
Since day one, Israel has insisted that the war cannot end with a jihadi army still holding hostages or able to fire rockets at our communities at will. Total victory means removing that threat once and for all—and that starts with Hamas’s unconditional surrender. For the sake of peace, Hamas must go.
Encouragingly, we are seeing the people of Gaza begin to say the same.
Hamas wants to wage permanent jihad.
The world must not let it.
Meanwhile, the Hamas government of Gaza has released what it claims is a comprehensive list of over 50,000 Palestinians killed in the war. But even Hamas’s own data proves what Israel has long maintained: this has been one of the most targeted military campaigns in modern history, in the most difficult urban battlefield.
According to analysis by citizen sleuth Salo Aizenberg, a recent guest on State of a Nation, the figure includes around 8,300 natural deaths. It also shows fatalities in the 13-55 age bracket are 72% men—showing clearly that Israel is targeting Hamas militants. Israel says it has killed around 20,000 Hamas terrorists. That would put the civilian-to-combatant casualty ratio around 1:1.
This isn’t Israeli data. It’s not American data. It’s Hamas’ data.
And it completely discredits the outrageous accusations of indiscriminate bombing.
Every innocent death is a tragedy. And Hamas bears full responsibility for this tragedy. It bears full blame for fighting from homes, schools, hospitals, and shelters—and for using the people of Gaza as human sacrifices. It bears full responsibility for rejecting American mediation efforts and preferring a full-blown war to releasing the hostages and relinquishing power. Despite this, Israel has gone to greater lengths than any military to mitigate harm to enemy civilians—but Hamas’ sick strategy only underscores why this jihadist regime must be removed.
Israel is fighting a just war justly. And Hamas’s own data just proved it.
We will continue telling that truth to the world.
Read to the end for a special Spokeschallenge.
Eylon Levy, former Israeli Government Spokesman, on Al Arabiya (Saudi Arabia):
Hamas is responsible for all civilian casualties in Gaza, because it uses civilians as “human sacrifices.” That sick strategy must stop.
Hamas cannot be allowed to remain in power after the war it started, or it will launch another October 7-style massacre. For the sake of peace, Hamas must go.
Israelis are united on the war’s goals, despite protests. There is broad consensus that the hostages must be returned AND Hamas must ultimately be dismantled. Israelis are debating the “how” and “when” of defeating Hamas, not “whether.”
Daniel Rubenstein, former prime ministerial advisor, on LBC Radio (UK):
International law doesn’t require Israel to supply its enemy. The Hamas government of Gaza is hijacking aid deliver to continue waging war—and Israel is under no legal obligation to give its enemy the resources it needs to fight.
Aid going into Gaza empowers Hamas. Hamas, the government of Gaza, is taxing the food to pay the terrorists who are starving the hostages.
Israel won’t withdraw from the Gaza Strip while Hamas remains in power, because that would mean Hamas achieve its war aims and gets away with 10/7.
Maj. (Res.) Doron Spielman, former IDF Spokesman, on ABC Australia:
It’s common sense that the response to the October 7 Massacre is the destruction of Hamas’ terrorist army and return of the hostages. Any agreement that would leave Hamas in power is completely untenable.
Israel is targeting Hamas leadership and fighters, who hide in civilian areas. Israel has done more than any army in history to evacuate enemy civilians before striking, but it has no choice but to act to prevent future attacks.
Hamas-run Gaza has enough food and supplies for months. But Hamas is hijacking supplies—and stealing or selling them on the black market. The problem is not the quantity of aid, but the Hamas-controlled distribution.
Rachel Lester, former IDF spokesperson, on Channels Television (Nigeria):
Hamas rejected US proposals to extend the ceasefire. Hamas made it clear it would rather drag Gaza back into war than release any of the 59 hostages.
Hamas used the ceasefire to rebuild and recruit new members—that’s how it was able to resume missile fire toward central Israel.
Shattering Truth About the Future of Peace with Ittay Flescher
Is peace still possible after October 7th and who is even left to fight for it?
In this tense episode, we sit down with Ittay Flescher, a longtime peace activist and educator, for a frank conversation about the state of peace activism after October 7.
On October 7, Hamas death squads had deliberately targeted Israeli peace activists. Peaceful Israelis who had dedicated their lives to helping Gazans were burned alive or kidnapped. One of them was 86-year-old Oded Lifschitz of Nir Oz, who used to drive Gazan children to hospitals in Israel for treatment—until he was stolen from his home and murdered in captivity. At his funeral, his widow Yocheved (a survivor of Hamas captivity) said: “We fought all through the years for social justice, for peace. To my sorrow, we were hit by a terrible attack by those we helped on the other side.”
This great betrayal plunged many left-wing Israelis into a state of intense cognitive dissonance. Many have shifted right. I wanted to understand how this shock had changed people’s thinking. That’s why I wanted to open up this conversation with someone who had written a book about peace activism in the shadow of the October 7 Massacre. Ittay Flescher, education director at Kids4Peace, had just published The Holy and the Broken: A Cry for Israeli-Palestinian Peace from a Land that Must be Shared.
I knew this was a raw subject, but I didn’t bank on how raw.
What started as a respectful and frank discussion soon became unbearably intense.
I wish this conversation had taken a different turn, but it’s worth a listen precisely because it reflects the unspeakable challenges facing Israel after October 7.
Coming Up on State of a Nation
John Spencer is the world’s leading urban warfare expert.
He argues that Israel CAN defeat Hamas militarily, but it won’t be easy.
Subscribe now on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify to catch our conversation unpacking why the collapse of the ceasefire offers hope that this time, the Hamas terror state can be brought to its knees—and what it means for the hostages.
This war is not a game. But games are a good way to keep your knowledge sharp.
Do this week’s crossword to test your knowledge.
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Am Yisrael Chai,
Eylon Levy
President, Israeli Citizen Spokespersons’ Office