The fragile ceasefire in Gaza was put to the test this weekend when Israeli forces reported that troops in the Rafah area came under fire, leaving two IDF soldiers dead and prompting a series of targeted strikes across the Strip. What unfolded was not chaos but a calibrated military response — Israel struck specific militant assets, then moved to reassert the terms of the truce rather than escalate into full-scale war. These are the actions of a nation defending its citizens while trying, rightly, to avoid a return to open-ended slaughter.
Israel’s military later said it had resumed enforcing the ceasefire and that humanitarian deliveries would restart after diplomatic pressure and clarifying talks with U.S. envoys. That is the right sequence: stop the violence, hold the line, and reopen aid once the security situation allows it, not the reverse. Americans should be thankful that restraint and prudence — not reckless brinkmanship — were the guiding instructions from Israel’s political and military leaders this weekend.
As Victoria Coates, a former Trump national security adviser, told viewers on Fox’s The Story, Israelis are acting with restraint even as they defend their sovereign territory. Coates knows the region and the stakes, and her sober assessment matters because it cuts through the partisan noise that often wants to moralize away security. This is not the time for lectures from those who have never had to decide between protecting civilians and allowing terrorists to rebuild.
Let’s be blunt: restraint by a democratic ally under attack should be praised, not smeared. Too many in the media and on the left reflexively treat every Israeli tactical response as proof of bad faith, while ignoring the tactical reality that a ceasefire that allows Hamas or rogue cells to shoot at Israeli soldiers is no ceasefire at all. If we want durable peace, we stop rewarding violence and demand the disarmament and dismantling of terror networks — not limp, endless pauses that become training time for the enemy.
Hamas predictably denied involvement in the Rafah incidents, even as independent reports and Israeli statements point to armed groups operating in those contested red zones. There is no neutrality in this conflict between a civilization that values life and the terrorist organization that celebrated slaughter two years ago and continues to hide behind civilians. Americans should recognize the difference and refuse the false equivalence peddled by networks and overseas councils that side with grievances over security.
The United States has a role to play: back our ally, insist on verified compliance with any truce, and use diplomatic muscle to ensure humanitarian aid reaches civilians without enriching terrorists. That is exactly what U.S. envoys and President Trump’s team have been doing this month — pressing for a stable ceasefire while holding Hamas accountable for violations and arranging for aid corridors to reopen. Support for Israel is not an optional posture; it is a strategic necessity for a free world that refuses to let barbarism normalize.
Hardworking Americans know what restraint looks like — it is strength disciplined by purpose. We should stand with the Israeli people and their leaders when they choose measured, proportionate responses over vengeance, and we should call out anyone who would trade our ally’s security for a headline. In these perilous times, conservative principles — strength, clarity, and loyalty to friends — are exactly what will keep both Israel and America safer.
