For 45 days, Israel has been searching for the tiebreaker in its confrontation with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The successful interceptions by the Iron Dome system, the destruction of 32 Hamas attack tunnels, the enormous destruction wrought in towns and neighborhoods close to the border — these were not enough to convince the Israeli public of a tangible victory.

The relatively high number of casualties sustained while searching for tunnels, the ongoing rocket fire (especially in the south) and Hamas’ repeated violation of cease-fires have given rise to a sense of confusion, and even impotence, in Israel. When residents of kibbutzim are afraid to return home and cabinet ministers publicly attack the prime minister for his weakness vis-à-vis Hamas, it’s difficult to speak of a decisive victory.

The assassination campaign launched by Israel this week reflects an attempt to break out of a military standstill and compel Hamas to accept a cease-fire. If the campaign ends successfully — assuming Hamas doesn’t exact a heavy price in countermeasures — the assassinations will help Netanyahu get rid of two burdens: the external pestering by Hamas and the internal political backbiting by cabinet membersAvigdor Lieberman and Naftali Bennett.

The fate of Mohammed Deif, the commander of Hamas’ military wing, is still unknown. However, Hamas admitted on Thursday that two of its senior commanders, Mohammed Abu Shamaleh and Raed Attar, considered numbers 3 and 4 in its military wing,were killed in an air force strike in the Rafah area. Other senior officials are also in Israel’s sights. These are the hardest days yet for Hamas since the war started.

Read the article in full at Haaretz.