I found this article by Dr. André Villeneuve very insightful. He is Associate Professor of Old Testament and Biblical Languages at Sacred Heart Seminary in Detroit Michigan. His article was published November 27, 2023 in Catholic World Report published by Ignatius Press.
I have only copied the last few paragraphs, following his detailed explanation and defense of his position. You may or may not like or agree with the analogy of Amalek, but I think it is an excellent article.
This war has proved to be a point of much contention and heated argument. Israel is not fighting the Palestinians — they are fighting the terrorist Hamas organization. I have Arab Palestinian Muslim friends who are in the IDF fighting Hamas alongside the Jewish soldiers.
You can read the whole article HERE. Below are the last few paragraphs and the conclusion of the article.
Despite the anti-Jewish hatred and incitement in Palestinian society, Israel is waging war against Hamas, not against Palestinian civilians. Israel has enough firepower to annihilate Gaza in one day. It could have carpet bombed Gaza and ended the war on October 8—but it didn’t. Instead, it launched a slow, costly, and dangerous ground invasion, with the aim of releasing all hostages, ending Hamas’ rule over Gaza, and restoring security in the region.
There is no moral equivalence in this conflict: Israel abides by the laws of war; Hamas does not. While Hamas seeks to maximize Israeli civilian casualties, Israel goes above and beyond to minimize them, warning civilians to stay away from military targets and opening humanitarian corridors enabling them to evacuate to safe areas.
Herem warfare—the indiscriminate killing of civilians—is never a acceptable moral option today. The only side that actively engages in it is Hamas (and its jihadist allies)—not Israel. According to the original Hamas Charter, “so-called peaceful solutions… are in contradiction to the principles of the Islamic Resistance Movement” and “there is no solution for the Palestinian question except through Jihad” (Art. 13). Precisely for this reason, Israel must defeat and destroy Hamas.
Authentic mercy and justice
As Adam Smith has said, “mercy to the guilty is cruelty to the innocent.” Allowing Hamas to survive is neither merciful nor just. It is cruel to both Israelis and Palestinians. A premature, long-term ceasefire would only work in Hamas’ favor, enabling it to regroup, prepare new terror attacks, and continue to sow misery and death among all peoples in the Holy Land and beyond its borders.
This does not mean that we should take pleasure in the war. We can simultaneously rejoice over the destruction of evil—‘for the good of all humanity’—and mourn over the loss of innocent lives on both sides.
History has shown that the Bible is right about Amalek. Evil regimes cannot be placated or appeased. They must be defeated. Just as there could be no negotiation or compromise with the Amaleks of the past—the Nazis, Al Qaida, or ISIS—there can be no negotiation or compromise with Hamas today. It must be defeated and destroyed.
Only with the elimination of Hamas can the Middle East take a small step towards the vision of future peace envisioned by the prophet Isaiah:
“Violence (Hebrew hamas) shall no more be heard in your land, devastation or destruction within your borders; you shall call your walls Salvation, and your gates Praise.” (Isa 60:18)