The ongoing conflict between Israel and Gaza is a complex issue that involves decades of political, religious, and territorial disputes. The current violence erupted in May 2021 and has resulted in the loss of lives and destruction of infrastructure. The situation is constantly evolving, and understanding the root causes and potential solutions requires a nuanced approach.
What’s going on in Israel and Gaza?
After Hamas fired a deadly barrage of rockets on Israel on Saturday, Israeli airstrikes have pounded the tiny coastal enclave. Hamas has been firing rockets into Israel since it seized Gaza in 2006, using Iran-supplied missiles. It also has flown balloons carrying incendiary devices that sometimes cause fires. And it has staged incursions into Israel, most famously kidnapping an Israeli soldier who was later freed in a prisoner swap.
On Sunday, a loudspeaker atop a mosque in Gaza City blared an urgent warning to residents of nearby apartment buildings: evacuate immediately or risk being hit by an Israeli strike. A few minutes later, a huge explosion flattened an entire five-story building.
The conflict has drawn the attention of world leaders, including President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi and King Abdullah II of Jordan. They discussed ways to avoid a further escalation, according to a statement from the palace in Jordan. The king stressed the importance of restraint and the protection of civilians.
Hamas’s Strategy
For several years, the conflict between Israel and Hamas had become routine, with regular attacks from Gaza and predictable Israeli reprisals. This destructive cycle allowed Hamas to present itself as the leader of the “resistance,” while also accomplishing its primary goal of enhancing its own security and demonstrating that Israel cannot stop it.
Hamas’s asymmetric and irrational strategy permits it to engage in resistance without bringing it closer to its national ends of social and economic development. However, from the point of view of a rational observer, this strategy appears to be problematic since it does not appear to achieve its ends vis-à-vis Israel, and, at the same time, it increases the existential threat to Hamas itself by forcing Israel to react with full force.
To compensate for this, Hamas employs a network of local sub-committees to monitor and execute its activities on the ground. These are linked to a central consultative body known as the Shura Council, which includes representatives from Gaza, the West Bank, and Israel’s prisons, as well as respected religious figures. It is these committees that are responsible for the rocket attacks and kidnappings of soldiers and civilians, among others. In addition, a variety of charities work in different countries to collect funds on behalf of Hamas, and many of them operate in countries where it has been designated as a terrorist organization. For more detailed insights into Hamas’s organizational structure and activities, you can visit our AllOverCoupon Blog.
Hamas’s Leadership
Hamas’s leadership is deeply religious, and it explicitly links its militant actions to the Quran and Muhammad. In addition, it has a political agenda and seeks legitimacy from the international community as a legitimate representative of Palestinian society.
But despite the group’s claim to be a fully legitimate political entity, its actions are highly repressive of other groups and people, including the Palestinian Authority, civilian activists on social media, and other NGOs. This repression of civil discourse has contributed to the polarization that has made Israeli-Palestinian relations particularly dangerous.
In a bid to present a more moderate face, Hamas’s leadership has occasionally proposed a long-term truce with Israel in exchange for an interim Palestinian state along the borders that existed before the Six-Day War. However, Israel has viewed these proposals with scepticism, viewing them as tactical manoeuvres rather than genuine peace efforts.
“Moreover, Hamas’s internal divisions are deepening. Yahya Sinwar, a founding member of Hamas’s armed wing, recently won the organization’s internal election to replace Esmael Haniya as a political leader of the Gaza Strip. However, sources close to Hamas suggest that he is not a true figurehead of the group, with Khalil al-Hayya as the de facto leader. For in-depth analysis and the latest updates on the internal dynamics within Hamas, you can visit our Saving Gain Blog.
The Future of the Conflict
Hamas has dealt Israel a major military blow in a coordinated campaign of rocket fire, infiltration attacks, and hostage-taking. It’s not clear yet whether this will lead to a full-blown Palestinian uprising (or intifada) centred around the Al-Aqsa mosque/Temple Mount, but it’s certainly been a shock to Israel and the outside world.
Until recently, Israel’s strategy was to significantly degrade Hamas and its terrorist proxies with air strikes, hoping to restore long-term deterrence on its southern flank. This time, Israel’s objective seems to be a more comprehensive war against Gaza that includes ground operations and massive destruction in the Strip itself.
The challenge for Israel is how to square this objective with Gaza’s urgent humanitarian needs. The hundreds of Hamas hostages are likely dispersed throughout a Gaza Strip that is just 365 sqm and riddled with tunnels, bunkers, and concealed places that will make finding and rescuing them challenging. Many are dual nationals, including American citizens, raising the stakes and adding another dimension to a difficult conflict.
The international community’s response will be key to how this conflict unfolds. If it fails to recognize the new nature of this battle and continues to peddle the threadbare slogans that have accompanied previous cycles of clashes between Israel and Hamas, it will help Hamas advance its goals. A good start would be for the United States to reject false equivalency between Israel’s actions and those of Hamas.
The Israeli Response
Hamas seized dozens of Israeli hostages in their rampage last week, including high-ranking military officers, and the fate of those captives will have profound implications for Israel and its allies. President Biden has indicated it’s likely that American citizens are among them and plans to deploy US experts and share intelligence to assist recovery efforts.
The Israeli government says it’s ready for a long war against Hamas, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed “mighty vengeance.” But many in Israel wonder whether the military campaign will help advance peace talks or only exacerbate a decades-long conflict between Palestinians and Israelis.
The military bombardment of Gaza — which has killed more than 900 people in the tiny Mediterranean coastal territory, according to Palestinian media — has already raised fears of a humanitarian catastrophe in the area’s overcrowded and impoverished neighborhoods. Israeli planes pounded residential buildings and even flattened a 14-story tower in central Gaza City, sending residents fleeing into the streets.
Amid the carnage, Hamas has issued a series of threats, including to execute Palestinian civilians whose homes Israel bombs without warning. The militant group’s military wing, the Ezzedin al-Qassam Brigades, has also promised to release audio and video of those executions. Those statements underscore how Hamas has transformed from an Islamist political movement to an extremist armed group that sees violent resistance as its goal.
Hamas’s response
Hamas is aiming to position itself as the true defender of Palestinian rights, particularly in the West Bank. It is doing this by claiming to be defending Al Aqsa Mosque.
It is hard to know what Hamas leaders were thinking as they hatched this plan, but it was surely not purely self-serving. They likely expected a massive Israeli response that would raze Gaza to a degree we haven’t seen before and may even involve ground incursions and a reoccupation of parts of the Strip.
This could have a devastating impact on the long-suffering population of Gaza, which depends on Israel for water, medicine, and power supplies. It might also further erode Hamas’ own political and popular support at home. This is a dangerous gamble. But in the short term, it seems to have succeeded in embarrassing Israel’s leadership and military establishment.
What’s next?
As the conflict escalates, Palestinian civilians will undoubtedly bear the brunt of it. They have nowhere to go if Israel invades Gaza, as it has threatened. With Egypt, on one side, and Israel, on the other, blocking their access to the outside world, they will be left in a desperate situation with no food, electricity, or fuel.
A massive Israeli ground operation will likely lead to a bloody fight, in which Israel’s soldiers and Hamas militants could both suffer. And, given the presence of dozens of unarmed Israel hostages in Gaza, it will also risk a deadly exchange with a group that is sworn to take them back to Israel at any cost.
It is not clear what prompted Hamas to launch this most audacious attack. But it could be that it wanted to take advantage of deep domestic divisions in Israel and a perceived laxity or lack of vigilance on the part of the external powers. It may have also been encouraged by Iran, which is keen to scupper any move towards a diplomatic rapprochement between two of its regional archenemies.
Conclusion
The conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza is a complex issue with no easy solutions. Both sides have legitimate concerns and grievances, and it is crucial to continue efforts towards a peaceful resolution. The international community must remain engaged and committed to finding a lasting solution that ensures the safety and security of all people in the region.
