Barak Ravid: The Limits of Military Action — ‘US halted bombing campaign as effectiveness has been exhausted’ /
Danny Citrinowicz: On the Brink of Uncontrolled Escalation? Iran ignores US unilateral ceasefire; Leaves US & allies with Increasingly Unattractive Options
Yedioth Ahoronot: US Official to NBC -- ‘We’ve achieved tactical victories, but face strategic defeat without a decision on where this is heading’ /
Major (res.) Yitzhak Brik: ‘The Hypersonic Threat and Military Catastrophe looming over Israel’ /
Ben Caspit: ‘In DC, Netanyahu aimed to push Trump to destroy Iran’s nuclear programme, without appearing to be dragging America into war’
Alon Ben David: ‘US presented demands for an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, Syria and Lebanon. Netanyahu told ministers he would refuse US demands’
[These compilations are drawn from analysis & commentary by leading Israeli political & security commentators, predominantly translated from Hebrew sources — as reports published in Hebrew often provide a different window on Israeli internal discourse. Minor edits have been made for clarity during translation].
CONSEQUENTIAL OBSERVATIONS —
The Limits to Military Action — ‘US bombing campaign effectiveness has been exhausted’ (Barak Ravid, 26 July):
[CENTCOM] Commander Admiral Cooper has recommended to the Pentagon and White House that the bombing campaign in the Strait of Hormuz region be brought to an end, as he believes it has reached its limit in terms of effectiveness, according to two sources familiar with his position. The sources said that the recommendation by the Commander of CENTCOM, together with the views of other advisers who highlighted the limitations of military action, influenced Trump’s decision [last week] to suspend US strikes against Iran …
According to sources, in the days leading up to the meeting, Trump had been inclined to resume a large-scale military operation against Iran, but this trend began to shift ... Trump’s decision to call off the bombing campaign in the Strait of Hormuz on Friday afternoon marked the completion of this shift in his position. Earlier this week, Admiral Cooper presented his recommendations to the Pentagon, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and White House. He emphasised that two weeks of strikes in the Hormuz region had significantly eroded Iran’s military capability to attack vessels.
According to the sources, Cooper noted that most of the targets identified for the military campaign around the Strait of Hormuz had already been struck. The CENTCOM commander said that the next possible step would be a return to a large-scale military operation to destroy the approximately 20 per cent of targets that the US military had identified but not [already] struck. However, Cooper emphasised that if the decision is not to escalate the fighting or return to a large-scale operation, there is no point in continuing the bombing campaign that has been underway over the past two weeks. The sources said that the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Kane, had also warned Defence Secretary Hegseth and Trump in private conversations about a shortage of interceptors for air defence systems, which could compromise the ability to protect US forces and US allies in the region.