What are Israel’s options after the Hamas attack? | Analysis
The HinduOver 1,350 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s bombing of Gaza in six days that followed a surprise attack by Hamas that left at least 1,200 Israelis dead on October 7. It continued to occupy southern Lebanon, but Iran, which became an Islamic Republic in 1979 after the revolution, saw an opportunity in Israel’s occupation, and helped create Hezbollah. The Shia militia group mobilised Lebanon’s historically marginalised Shia community and resisted Israel’s occupation, forcing the Israelis to withdraw from Lebanon in 2000, 18 years after the war began, and rewarding itself with political benefits. But this would mean that Hamas would remain in Gaza, like Hezbollah did in Lebanon after 2006, and as the Palestine issue remains unresolved, Hamas would continue to enjoy the support of Palestinians and Israel’s regional rivals and over the years, it would rebuild itself. If Mr. Netanyahu’s objective is to destroy Hamas, he will have to topple the Hamas government, bring the enclave under Israel’s direct military occupation, after a gap of 18 years, and be ready to fight a long urban war of attrition with a militia group in an overcrowded, impoverished hostile enclave, while at the same time continuing the military occupation of the Palestinian West Bank and East Jerusalem.