If Not This, Then What Should Israel Do?
\u201cTwo things are true: Israel must do something, and what it\u2019s doing now is indefensible.\u201d So writes Zack Beauchamp, a senior correspondent at Vox.\n\nAlmost a month has passed since Hamas fighters slaughtered over 1,400 people in Israel and the state mounted its furious response. For weeks, Israel has laid siege to Gaza, cutting off water and electricity to the tiny strip of land and carrying out airstrikes that have reportedly killed over 8,000 Palestinians. On Friday a ground invasion began, and the response across much of the globe has been horror. If Israel continues down this road, the cost in Palestinian lives, and in support for Israel, will be immense.\n\nThe question that hangs over the criticism is this: What, then, should Israel do? What would be a moral response to Hamas\u2019s savagery and to the very real need Israelis have for security?\n\nBeauchamp, who has covered Israel extensively in recent years, set out to answer that question. He spoke with counterterrorism experts, military historians, experts on Hamas, ethicists and more. I found his piece \u201cWhat Israel Should Do Now\u201d one of the best I\u2019ve read since Oct. 7. So I asked him to join me on the show.\n\nMentioned:\n\n"Fears Grow That Israel Has 'No Plan' Agreed for Postwar Gaza" by Neri Zilber and Felicia Schwartz\n\nBook Recommendations:\n\nA High Price by Daniel Byman\n\nThe Selected Works of Edward Said, 1966 \u2013 2006 by Edward W. Said\n\nThe Accidental Empire by Gershom Gorenberg\n\nThoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at ezrakleinshow@nytimes.com.\n\nYou can find transcripts (posted midday) and more episodes of \u201cThe Ezra Klein Show\u201d at nytimes.com/ezra-klein-podcast, and you can find Ezra on Twitter @ezraklein. Book recommendations from all our guests are listed at https://www.nytimes.com/article/ezra-klein-show-book-recs.\n\nThis episode of \u201cThe Ezra Klein Show\u201d was produced by Emefa Agawu. Fact checking by Michelle Harris, with Kate Sinclair and Mary Marge Locker. Our senior engineer is Jeff Geld. Our senior editor is Claire Gordon. The show\u2019s production team also includes Rollin Hu and Kristin Lin. Original music by Isaac Jones. Audience strategy by Kristina Samulewski and Shannon Busta. The executive producer of New York Times Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser. Special thanks to Efim Shapiro.