On The Mossad Files with Dan Raviv, you'll hear some of Benjamin Netanyahu's rosy scenarios -- pointing to successes against Lebanon, Syria, and Iran -- and the prime minister suggests Hamas can be defeated totally in Gaza, to force release of the Israeli hostages.

But our guest, Brigadier General (Ret.) Assaf Orion -- a former head of strategic planning for the IDF -- tells us that Hamas is already defeated, and the Gaza war must end. Orion also analyzes the role of intelligence in Israel's comeback since Oct. 7, and he comments with surprise that the Mossad has wanted stories about its innovative successes to be published.

Orion is currently a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

Please comment on X at @danraviv. Also on BlueSky, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Dan's most recent book -- with Israeli espionage/defense expert Yossi Melman -- about the Mossad and Israel's other security agencies is "Spies Against Armageddon: Inside Israel's Secret Wars" -- You may purchase it at http://bit.ly/41j1Sc3 in Kindle or paperback (and on all e-book platforms).

AND ANOTHER BOOK: Dan Raviv is co-author of a new book -- with world-renowned social psychologist Prof. Arie Kruglanski -- "The Quest for Significance: Harnessing the Need that Makes the World Go Round." It explains how every person has a need for respect and dignity, and the book advises how you can find what's important to you -- and figure out all the people around you, to give them a measure of Significance ... and then they typically will reflect some back at you. That's called a win-win. To buy: https://amzn.to/3Y2cawj

(You can watch or listen, also, to THE QUEST FOR SIGNIFICANCE PODCAST series.)

Our music for THE MOSSAD FILES podcast is Clock is Ticking, by Braden Deal, from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/braden-deal/clock-is-ticking -- License code: YY2MEPOUFX6P7MIH.