Hamas’s unremitting intransigence over hostage release and a temporary peace settlement has brought Israel to the point of renewing offensive operations against the remaining areas of Gaza it does not yet control. Keir Starmer and the other national leaders who have been encouraging Hamas with symbolic gestures and roundly condemning Israel have contributed to this situation. Why would Hamas continue to negotiate if the Western world is doing its job for it?
The only effective action against Hamas has come not from diplomacy but military force, which pressured them into surrendering many of the hostages. The remaining living hostages are being starved to death, which we saw evidenced by recent images of two emaciated prisoners on their last legs. It looks like Israel’s renewed offensive is their final chance.
Likewise, Hamas is not going to surrender its control over Gaza without being forced to do so. Israel is therefore left with no choice other than to press ahead and seize control over the rest of Gaza. That is far from a small undertaking. The areas it possesses now – about 75 per cent of the territory – are largely unpopulated. The remainder, in the north, centre and south, is where the vast majority of Gazans now live. Many of them will have to be re-located.
If any time were ripe to allow them safe haven out of the firing line it is now. Rather than wringing their hands about yet another Israeli offensive, the likes of Starmer and Macron should be publicly and privately pressuring Egypt to open its borders and allow those that want to get away to find temporary safety in the Sinai. But that hasn’t been on the agenda so far and is unlikely to be now.
Meanwhile Israel is going to have to step up its already considerable humanitarian efforts. Most effective would be the expansion of the American Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which is at present distributing most of the aid going into Gaza via its secure distribution sites. That would be opposed by the UN and Hamas. As the IDF close in, Hamas are going to have less say in that or anything else. As for the UN, they too should be pushing Egypt to open humanitarian zones where aid could be distributed freely. Failing that, they should come up with a better idea than just leaving their own aid scorching in the sun and undelivered inside the Gaza border.
Prime Minister Netanyahu has made it clear that, once Hamas is dealt with, he does not want Israel to remain in control of Gaza. He envisages some kind of administration by Arab countries. That has been under discussion pretty much since this war began, but he is deliberately unspecific for obvious reasons, and in any case nothing can be concluded until the war is won. Whatever arrangements are put in place, the IDF will have to maintain overall security control which will include occupation and freedom of movement in critical defensive zones to prevent another October 7.
Threats of recognition of a Palestinian state, arms embargoes and other Western measures against Israel are not going to stop this offensive moving on to its final conclusion. The only thing that might is if this redoubled Israeli resolve, after all other options have been exhausted, causes Hamas to understand that the game is finally up. That message could also be reinforced by direct action against Hamas’s external leadership which remain a key element of the terrorist group’s desire for endless war. In this part of the world it is not diplomacy or compromise that holds sway, but overwhelming strength.
Hamas’s unremitting intransigence over hostage release and a temporary peace settlement has brought Israel to the point of renewing offensive operations against the remaining areas of Gaza it does not yet control. Keir Starmer and the other national leaders who have been encouraging Hamas with symbolic gestures and roundly condemning Israel have contributed to this situation. Why would Hamas continue to negotiate if the Western world is doing its job for it?
The only effective action against Hamas has come not from diplomacy but military force, which pressured them into surrendering many of the hostages. The remaining living hostages are being starved to death, which we saw evidenced by recent images of two emaciated prisoners on their last legs. It looks like Israel’s renewed offensive is their final chance.
Likewise, Hamas is not going to surrender its control over Gaza without being forced to do so. Israel is therefore left with no choice other than to press ahead and seize control over the rest of Gaza. That is far from a small undertaking. The areas it possesses now – about 75 per cent of the territory – are largely unpopulated. The remainder, in the north, centre and south, is where the vast majority of Gazans now live. Many of them will have to be re-located.
If any time were ripe to allow them safe haven out of the firing line it is now. Rather than wringing their hands about yet another Israeli offensive, the likes of Starmer and Macron should be publicly and privately pressuring Egypt to open its borders and allow those that want to get away to find temporary safety in the Sinai. But that hasn’t been on the agenda so far and is unlikely to be now.
Meanwhile Israel is going to have to step up its already considerable humanitarian efforts. Most effective would be the expansion of the American Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which is at present distributing most of the aid going into Gaza via its secure distribution sites. That would be opposed by the UN and Hamas. As the IDF close in, Hamas are going to have less say in that or anything else. As for the UN, they too should be pushing Egypt to open humanitarian zones where aid could be distributed freely. Failing that, they should come up with a better idea than just leaving their own aid scorching in the sun and undelivered inside the Gaza border.
Prime Minister Netanyahu has made it clear that, once Hamas is dealt with, he does not want Israel to remain in control of Gaza. He envisages some kind of administration by Arab countries. That has been under discussion pretty much since this war began, but he is deliberately unspecific for obvious reasons, and in any case nothing can be concluded until the war is won. Whatever arrangements are put in place, the IDF will have to maintain overall security control which will include occupation and freedom of movement in critical defensive zones to prevent another October 7.
Threats of recognition of a Palestinian state, arms embargoes and other Western measures against Israel are not going to stop this offensive moving on to its final conclusion. The only thing that might is if this redoubled Israeli resolve, after all other options have been exhausted, causes Hamas to understand that the game is finally up. That message could also be reinforced by direct action against Hamas’s external leadership which remain a key element of the terrorist group’s desire for endless war. In this part of the world it is not diplomacy or compromise that holds sway, but overwhelming strength.