Will Israeli invasion of Gaza backfire?
The reality is that there are no good options for Benjamin Netanyahu
President Biden took "a bold gamble" by heading to Israel this week, said Donald Macintyre in The Independent.
Even before hundreds of Palestinians were killed by a massive explosion at a Gaza hospital on the eve of his arrival, it was set to be a fraught diplomatic mission. It risked associating him with Israel’s expected ground invasion of Gaza, and making the US look one-sided. And that risk was magnified by Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas pulling out of his meeting with Biden in protest at the hospital blast, which Israeli forces and Palestinian militants blamed on each other. But the White House clearly decided that the mission was nevertheless worth pursuing.
The visit was an opportunity for Biden to show solidarity with Israel over the Hamas atrocities of a fortnight ago; to discuss the plight of the 200 or so hostages held by Hamas, several of whom are American; and to air US concerns about "the mounting humanitarian catastrophe" inside Gaza, wrote Macintyre.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
What did the papers say?
"Israel is in no mood for restraint," said The Economist. In the past, it has engaged in periodic, limited operations to cut Hamas down to size – "mowing the grass", as some used to call it. But this time, in response to the massacre of more than 1,400 of its people, it's out to eradicate the group completely. "I don't care what happens next," as Eitan Shamir, director of an Israeli think-tank, puts it. "Whatever it is, it starts with destroying Hamas."
Israel has blocked supplies of food, water and fuel to Gaza, and last week warned all non-combatants to evacuate the northern half of the territory, in anticipation of a ground invasion.
Removing Hamas won't be easy, said Con Coughlin in The Daily Telegraph, but it's not impossible. After all, the West did ultimately succeed in destroying through force the threat posed by al-Qa'eda and Islamic State.
Israel's anger and desire for vengeance are understandable, said Ian Birrell in The i Paper, and it, of course, has a right to defend itself. It should be wary, though, of lashing out in an indiscriminate way that only fuels a cycle of violence.
Gaza is a densely inhabited sliver of land the size of the Isle of Wight. Two-thirds of its 2.3 million impoverished inhabitants are under the age of 24. Aerial bombardments of such a territory will inevitably claim many innocent lives: health authorities in Gaza say 3,000 people have already been killed.
The bombing and siege amount to "collective punishment", which is against the laws of war, said The Guardian. As for giving northern Gaza's 1.1 million people 24-hours' notice to move south, that, too, shows a contempt for civilian lives, given that most of Gaza's hospitals are in the north. This is about more than just revenge, said Emad Moussa in The New Arab. It reflects Israel's long-harboured ambition "to empty Gaza and make Palestinian Gazans Egypt's problem".
A full ground invasion of Gaza, as Israel appears to be planning, would be a very risky proposition, said Colonel Tim Collins in the Daily Mail. The standard military ratio says you need ten soldiers for every defending fighter to achieve superiority. So Israel would need a force of around 400,000 to take on Hamas's 40,000 estimated operatives. But this war would be fought in narrow streets unsuited to tanks, against an enemy moving through a "hidden labyrinth of tunnels and bunkers underneath the city". Such a campaign could descend into a "bloody quagmire", inflaming the Arab world. "Even if Israel wipes out the top ranks of Hamas – many of whom are safely abroad in sympathetic Middle Eastern countries – and occupies the Gaza Strip, what then?"
It's hard to see what victory would look like for Israel in a military campaign, agreed Dan Sabbagh in The Guardian. As the former MI6 chief Alex Younger put it last week: "You cannot kill all the terrorists without creating more terrorists."
What next?
The reality is that there are no good options for Israel, said The Economist. An occupation of Gaza is "unsustainable" and continuing Hamas rule in the territory is "unacceptable". As for handing over control of Gaza to Hamas's Palestinian rival, the weak and corrupt Fatah, that's "untenable".
Perhaps the best that can be hoped for is a "short period of martial law" in Gaza while Arab intermediaries help find new Palestinian leaders acceptable to both sides. Israel can't eradicate Hamas but it can isolate, diminish and delegitimise it, said Thomas L. Friedman in The New York Times. That's how the US neutralised Isis and al-Qa'eda. But this course requires "patience, precision", and willing allies. Sending thousands of Israeli reservists into "an urban war in one of the most densely populated places in the world" is no solution.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Costa Rica's renewable energy success could be under threat
Under the radar Central American nation generates nearly all its electricity from renewable sources but climate change is bringing huge challenges
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
What is NASA working on?
In Depth A running list of the space agency's most exciting developments
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
'Presidential debates are more performance art than actual ways to inform'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
How would we know if World War Three had started?
Today's Big Question With conflicts in Ukraine, Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific, the 'spark' that could ignite all-out war 'already exists'
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Will Iran attack hinder support for Ukraine?
Today's Big Question Pro-Kyiv allies cry 'hypocrisy' and 'double standards' even as the US readies new support package
By Elliott Goat, The Week UK Published
-
The issue of women and conscription
Under the radar Ukraine military adviser hints at widening draft to women, as other countries weigh defence options amid global insecurity
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Will Iran's attack on Israel backfire?
Today's Big Question The unprecedented targeting of Israel could be a 'godsend' for Netanyahu as the limits of Tehran's military power are exposed
By Elliott Goat, The Week UK Published
-
Will Iran risk all-out war with Israel?
Today's Big Question Tehran has not wanted to be directly involved in the Middle East conflict so far. But that could be about to change
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
A history of Guantánamo Bay
The Explainer War of Terror's 'symbol of torture, rendition and indefinite detention' is subject of new Serial podcast series
By The Week UK Published
-
Why is Islamic State targeting Russia?
Today's Big Question Islamist terror group's attack on 'soft target' in Moscow was driven in part by 'opportunity and personnel'
By Elliott Goat, The Week UK Published
-
'Humanitarian islands': how will Israel's plan for Rafah civilians work?
Today's Big Question Designated zones in central Gaza to provide temporary housing, food and water for more than a million displaced Palestinians
By The Week UK Published