Hamas has always used those "martyrs" as human shields and poster children for its genocidal cause. It will continue to use every Palestinian in Gaza in such ways for as long as it exists. Anyone who really cares about the future of Gazans should be rooting for Israel to finish the job against Hamas. There can never be peace as long as Hamas runs Gaza.
Hamas has always used those "martyrs" as human shields and poster children for its genocidal cause. It will continue to use every Palestinian in Gaza in such ways for as long as it exists. Anyone who really cares about the future of Gazans should be rooting for Israel to finish the job against Hamas. There can never be peace as long as Hamas runs Gaza.
The last sentence is undoubtedly true. The question is, what does "finishing the job" look like? How exactly is that accomplished? Does killing more non-Hamas Gazans now make it more or less likely that Hamas is running Gaza next year?
I recently heard a clip in which a Gazan responded to an Israeli attack by cursing Hamas. Gaza might be the only place in the Arab world where Hamas's popularity rating is under 50%. Hamas might be successfully hoodwinking the rest of the world, but the people of Gaza know who is responsible for their suffering. I doubt Gazans will rally behind Hamas again, no matter how much they fear Israel.
With that said, there are ways for Israel to reduce civilian deaths without submitting to a permanent ceasefire. But that would require strategic patience, which seems to be in short supply in the current Israeli government. Unfortunately, it's not clear that Netanyahu's incentives are aligned with Israel's long-term interests. Like Trump, his top priority is still staying out of jail.
Hamas has always used those "martyrs" as human shields and poster children for its genocidal cause. It will continue to use every Palestinian in Gaza in such ways for as long as it exists. Anyone who really cares about the future of Gazans should be rooting for Israel to finish the job against Hamas. There can never be peace as long as Hamas runs Gaza.
The last sentence is undoubtedly true. The question is, what does "finishing the job" look like? How exactly is that accomplished? Does killing more non-Hamas Gazans now make it more or less likely that Hamas is running Gaza next year?
I recently heard a clip in which a Gazan responded to an Israeli attack by cursing Hamas. Gaza might be the only place in the Arab world where Hamas's popularity rating is under 50%. Hamas might be successfully hoodwinking the rest of the world, but the people of Gaza know who is responsible for their suffering. I doubt Gazans will rally behind Hamas again, no matter how much they fear Israel.
With that said, there are ways for Israel to reduce civilian deaths without submitting to a permanent ceasefire. But that would require strategic patience, which seems to be in short supply in the current Israeli government. Unfortunately, it's not clear that Netanyahu's incentives are aligned with Israel's long-term interests. Like Trump, his top priority is still staying out of jail.