Israel, as ever, is caught between its hard-won capacity to fight militarily on its own terms, and its inability to achieve lasting security without the collusion of Washington, and the major Arab capitals too.
More than a month has elapsed since the Saturday that shocked the world, when Hamas terrorists infiltrated Israel and went on a murderous rampage of unprecedented brutality. Since then, Israel’s military has exacted unflinching vengeance on Hamas, at a cost, so far, of up to eight times as many Palestinian lives as those lost in Israel on October 7.
But in the past few days, something about the conflict has shifted. There has been military momentum: the Israel Defence Forces’ bulldozers, tanks and troops are now busting Hamas bunkers in the heart of Gaza City. But the real change has been political, or strategic: the focus is increasingly turning to what happens after the IDF has done its work.
Hans van LeeuwenJournalistHans van Leeuwen is The Australian Financial Review’s former Europe correspondent. He is now International Economy editor for The Telegraph UK.
