What will be the final outcome in Gaza—and when?
Predicting the future is always dicey, and one book claimed that the bigger the expert the more often he would be wrong in his predictions. I always felt that if a person was wrong on his prediction and was punished, then he would be a lot more circumspect in projecting his supposed wisdom. With this disclaimer in mind, let’s ask: what will be the future of Gaza? Maybe the question should be broken down into two: what would be the best outcome and what will be the probable outcome?
The fighting in Gaza has taken a public backseat to the issue of humanitarian aid. As mentioned a thousand times, no country has ever fed an enemy population during active military activity. Sure, a kind GI would give his chocolate bar to a German kid or a few cigarettes to an Italian POW but nobody ever expected the Allies to feed their enemies during active combat. After the war, the US made huge efforts to feed defeated German and Japanese populations. At one point, MacArthur told the Congress to either give him the massive food stores set aside for a November, 1945 invasion of Japan or enough bullets to kill rioting locals demanding food that Japan could not produce. The general got his food.
Currently, it is a Ringling Brothers production for food distribution in different parts of Gaza. For example:
*Multiple countries are dropping food pallets into Gaza. UAE, Egypt, Jordan and even Israel have been sending food in via C130 drops; watch below for unopened parachutes!
*The land route. The UN and their dear friends in Hamas demand that food enter via trucks that terrorists can strip of contents. It is amazing to see trucks enter from Egypt into Rafah, travel fully unmolested in the IDF-controlled, local clan protected area up to the Morag Line, and then after crossing the latter get mauled by Hamas gunmen and regular Gazans. After a few more minutes of driving, the trucks have little left behind the cab.
*The GHF. The Gaza Humanitarian Fund has distribution points in areas that are under full Israeli control. They have given out the equivalent of over 90 million meals. Their distribution areas at times seem chaotic and Hamas has killed or grabbed people who have used the free American food services. Hamas is furious over this option as it cannot control the food or make money off of the same, as the food is given out free.
While things in the Middle East change like the moving of sand in the desert, talks between Israel and Hamas have come to a standstill. Hamas will not agree to any arrangement that does not end the war, get the IDF out of Gaza and give everything needed to rebuild the dump. Israel is willing to temporarily stop fighting if there is some chance to get any of the 20 living hostages back. But it will fight again to finish off Hamas (whatever that means) and is in no hurry to turn over the Egyptian crossings or the land captured in the north. Israel’s latest threat, which may be empty like previous warnings, is that any lack of movement by Hamas will be met with irreversible annexation of Gazan land to Israel.
While we cannot go back in time, there is no question that one could have expected Israel to fight differently. With 1,200 dead, thousands more injured and over 250 held in Gaza, Israel embarked on its revenge war. Israel both created expectations and the UN and Biden administration enforced those expectations about how the war would be run: minimal civilian casualties, humanitarian aid by the truckload, and no intention to remain in Gaza after the conflict. All of these approaches were wrong. Israel should have fought an all-out war with consideration for military targets and not all of the SMS and phone calls to move people around. It should not have let anything into Gaza for free: you want food, give us a hostage and you get a few trucks. This equation should have been set up from day 1 but it was not: why not?
In the end of the day, if you get past the “destroy Hamas” and “gates of hell” jargon, you realize that Israel does not want to run Gaza again. Running Palestinian areas only leads to attacks, death, friction and international condemnation. So Israel wants to win but she does not want to administer Gaza as she did until she stupidly pulled out in 2005. Hamas having the joint all to itself allowed it to prepare for the October 7th massacre without much interference.
What Israel should do is permanently absorb Rafah, northern Gaza and a border belt of one kilometer. These places should be nonnegotiable. I believe that Israel should set up towns because the only thing that has value in Palestinian culture is land. When you take land and make it unmistakably Jewish, then they knew that they too lost on October 7, 2023. Either way, these areas should be added to Israeli maps and should be outside of any diplomatic discussion. Make it a mantra that these are parts of Israel for now and forever. And as with the Golan, people will eventually recognize the new reality and stop questioning it.
Gazans should be encouraged to emigrate to wherever they want to go and can be accepted. Rebuilding should be controlled via what comes into the enclave so as to prevent the addition of new tunnels. Gaza should be rebuilt slowly so as to make it painfully clear what the price is for killing Jews by the bushel. One may somehow get rid of the official “Hamas” but nobody can get rid of the Hamas mentality which can be found in many of those who have moved from the region to Europe and the US. The people will have to be tightly monitored and any weapons acquisitions or attempts at terror should be met with an iron fist.
What will Gaza’s future be in reality? There will be a big push to get Israel completely out of Gaza. As the UK, Canada and France run to join Ireland, Spain, and others in recognizing a Palestinian state, they all have shown collective amnesia with regard to what started this war. There will be pressure to allow in a thousand trucks a day with food and every type of building material. Some fig leaf non-Hamas Hamas government will be appointed—maybe the criminal Palestinian Authority—but the hatred of Jews and Israel will be the same as before. Gaza cannot be rehabilitated. It needs to be divided up in Israel’s favor and left as it is until most of its population has chosen to leave. Whatever is left must be ruthlessly managed so that it can never attack again. The UN and Europe want to keep Jew killers close to their prey; Israel cannot allow them the capabilities to attack again. Gaza must be neutralized.
Editor's Note: The mainstream media continues to deflect, gaslight, spin, and lie about President Trump, his administration, and conservatives.
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