Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu set a difficult goal for victory at the start of the Gaza offensive: the complete destruction of Hamas and the release of about 250 prisoners.
He has emphasized many times on achieving these goals. During a press conference in January he said:
‘There are those who claim that victory is impossible. I totally reject this. Under my leadership, Israel will not settle for anything less than total victory over Hamas.’
According to The Conversion website, Israel is far from achieving these goals despite the six-month offensive. Israeli forces (IDF) have had no trouble destroying buildings and other infrastructure in Gaza, resulting in large numbers of civilian casualties and severe hardship for residents, but they The grip still seems weak.
For example, Israeli journalist Anshel Pfeiffer wrote in the Sunday Times this week that when he was recently attached to an IDF unit, he saw Hamas snipers in the ruins of al-Shafa Hospital.
The goal of freeing Israeli prisoners also seems far off. More prisoners were expected to be released after a brief cease-fire in November, in which 105 Israeli prisoners were exchanged for 240 Palestinian prisoners during the temporary war in November.
But only three Israeli prisoners were freed due to the Israeli military operation, it is believed that about 100 prisoners are still in Gaza and alive.
Despite these poor results, Netanyahu says that only military pressure on Hamas will lead to the release of prisoners. Netanyahu, who leads the most right-wing government in Israel’s history, has the support of his cabinet in that confidence.
Some far-right members of the cabinet have threatened to quit if they do not withdraw from the target, which would bring down their government. In such a case, new elections will be required. Netanyahu will surely lose these elections by a wide margin.
But Netanyahu’s emphasis on the military defeat of Hamas has raised questions among many Israelis about whether the focus on the military campaign has detracted from efforts to free the prisoners.
A public opinion poll by the Hebrew University in mid-January found that nearly half of those surveyed said the real priority should be the hostages. Mass protests against Netanyahu’s handling of the war in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem in recent weeks suggest that proportion may now rise.
Is Hamas ‘winning’?
Unlike Netanyahu’s government, the Hamas leadership has not publicly set a standard by which to measure victory.
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Hamas seems to believe it has the upper hand. Since a temporary cease-fire in November, Hamas has stepped up its demands for a new prisoner exchange deal that includes a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a permanent cease-fire.
Hamas is well aware that during the war, Israel has lost a lot of international support, especially from the Biden administration in the US, as well as other traditional supporters in the West. Last week’s IDF killing of seven aid workers from the World Central Kitchen charity has added to international outrage.
After the aid workers were killed, Biden had a diplomatically ‘direct’ (i.e. angry) phone call with Netanyahu, during which he described the overall humanitarian situation in Gaza as ‘unacceptable’. He called on Israel to take concrete measures to address civilian casualties and protect all aid workers.
Biden then threatened to reevaluate U.S. policy toward Gaza if Netanyahu failed to take immediate action.
Netanyahu has grown accustomed to confronting US presidents during his time in office, but Biden’s message certainly resonated with him. He immediately convened a cabinet meeting that approved the opening of three aid routes to Gaza.
But was this really a turning point in American support for Israel? The US has already reduced its diplomatic support for Israel and was unable to participate in the implementation of a ceasefire resolution at the UN Security Council last month.
A more serious step would be to reduce or impose conditions on US arms sales to Israel. However, such a move is unlikely at this stage. It would run counter to longstanding bipartisan U.S. policy toward Israel, which since the establishment of the Jewish state has virtually ensured its survival in a region surrounded by enemies.
Experts believe that US sanctions on military aid to Israel are even less likely in Israel’s current security environment, as it faces threats not only from Hamas, but also from Hezbollah in Lebanon, Houthi rebels in Yemen, and Iranian-backed militants in Iraq and Syria. is facing After the Israeli attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus last week, Iran has also issued threats against Israel.
Palestinian children try to get food in Rafah refugee camp (Reuters)
Can the deadlock be broken?
Netanyahu’s problem, however, is that Biden has now limited Israel’s freedom to wage war. Attacking the Rafah enclave in southern Gaza would cause massive civilian casualties and incur further American ire, so Israel is unlikely to proceed for now.
Both the U.S. and Israel hope that progress can be made in resuming talks in Egypt this week. Although Egyptian media say progress has been made on the deal, it remains to be seen whether the parties can reach an agreement on the most contentious points of disagreement.
Biden’s other big problem is that America has no alternative to deal with Hamas except Netanyahu.
Biden’s threat to Netanyahu called for reducing civilian casualties and allowing more aid into Gaza, but stopped short of abandoning the goal of destroying Hamas in Gaza.
Biden’s plan for a political settlement in the region is to restore the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and take over the administration of Gaza after the defeat of Hamas. However, the Palestinian Authority’s reputation among Palestinians and Israelis is very poor, so it is not clear how this goal can be achieved.
In such a situation, Hamas continues to exist and is currently not going anywhere.
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#long #Israel #pressure #continue #aggression #Gaza
2024-09-06 06:29:16
Here is a comprehensive and SEO-optimized article on the topic of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s goals for the Gaza offensive and the challenges he faces:
Netanyahu’s Elusive Victory: The Unrelenting Struggle in Gaza
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu set a lofty goal for his military operation in Gaza: the complete destruction of Hamas and the release of around 250 prisoners. However, six months into the offensive, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have made little progress in achieving these objectives. While the IDF has successfully destroyed infrastructure and buildings in Gaza, resulting in significant civilian casualties and hardship for residents, Hamas’s grip on the region remains strong.
The Ceasefire Conundrum
In January, Netanyahu emphasized the importance of achieving a military victory over Hamas
