From the moment Israel began its defensive campaign against Hamas following the deadly slaughter that was carried out on October 7th, calls for a "ceasefire" have overwhelmed the public conversation surrounding the war. At the forefront of those calls has been a group of Democrat congressional members commonly referred to as "the squad." 

Rashida Tlaib, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley, Ilhan Omar, and Cori Bush have all been mindlessly demanding that Hamas be spared, suggesting that any attempt to take out the terrorist group constitutes "collective punishment." It's a standard that has never been applied to any other nation in the history of war following a large-scale act of aggression. Why only Israel is met with such demands is something I'll let others speculate on. 

#CeasefireNOW#CeasefireNOW#CeasefireNOW pic.twitter.com/Z6QSHx53xt

— Cori Bush (@CoriBush) October 28, 2023

We now know how effective those calls have been. On Monday, the Israeli Defense Minister released a definitive statement regarding calls for a ceasefire, giving just two options: Hamas either unconditionally surrenders or dies.

BREAKING: Israel's defense minister says Hamas has two options 'surrender unconditionally or die'

— The Spectator Index (@spectatorindex) October 30, 2023

Pampered politicians in Washington simply have no concept of the actual fight taking place, or if they do, they are purposely misconstruing it to support Hamas anyway. To put it simply, no matter what one's views on the Palestinian cause are, there is no scenario where Israel can continue to share a border with a terrorist government that has broken ceasefire after ceasefire over the years, with the last one taking the lives of nearly 1,500 people. 

It's easy to rant at a rally in front of the Capitol Building about a ceasefire. It's a lot harder to deal with the realities on the ground when peace is simply not achievable with the current authorities in Gaza. Hamas is not hiding the ball. This isn't about a two-state solution for them. Rather, in their own words, this is about the extermination of Jews worldwide. 

Hamas leader, Ha-mad Al-Regeb, calls for the genocide of Jews, and prays to Allah to help Muslims behead Jews: "Oh Allah, Enable Us to Get to the Necks of the Jews".pic.twitter.com/UGUgpL0q8t
He explains that the conflict is not related to land disputes, but to the sins of Jews…

— Liza Rosen (@LizaRosen0000) October 28, 2023

Is there some future where Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank end up with a state? I can't answer that question, but I can say with certainty that they will never achieve those ends as long as Hamas remains in power. That may not make congressional members posting on social media from their ritzy apartments happy, but Israel doesn't have the luxury of playing the PR game. 

Thus, all those calling for a ceasefire are wasting their breath. If they truly want the war to stop, they should call for Hamas to release the hostages and surrender. Any other outcome is not sustainable.