Deadly attack shifts Israel from managing Hamas to destroying it

TEL AVIV – For 16 years, Israeli governments worked to manage the Hamas leaders in Gaza, not topple them.

The militant group rejected Israel’s existence and engaged in violence, but kept order over the territory. Hamas was better than chaos. 

The carnage last weekend, when Hamas militants killed hundreds of Israeli civilians after a sophisticated breach of the border fence, has shifted official views.

Now, the aim is to

destroy the organisation’s military capability

and kill its leaders.

Left unsaid in Israel but widely assumed is that, when the war ends, Hamas will no longer rule in Gaza.

In announcing the

formation of an emergency unity government

on Wednesday night, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu referred to the Islamic State organisation from the previous decade, saying, “Hamas is ISIS, and we will crush and eliminate it just as the world crushed and eliminated ISIS.” 

Lieutenant-Colonel Richard Hecht, a military spokesman, told reporters on Thursday: “Right now, we are focused on taking out their senior leadership, not only the military but also their government leadership.”

‘Mowing lawn’

This is a change from the previous military policy of occasional invasions, harsh but limited, sometimes referred to as “mowing the lawn”, meaning a task to which one is required to return repeatedly. 

Any operation against the militant group is destined to result in more civilian deaths and raise diplomatic dilemmas.

Turkey has already signalled a shift away from the intense diplomacy that was under way to normalise ties with Israel after years of estrangement.

Rulers from Saudi Arabia to the United Arab Emirates could follow if public opinion in their countries turns increasingly hostile to Israel.

A former top military officer who remains in close touch with the army, speaking on condition of anonymity, said when the war ends, Israel may set up a temporary military regime and hand Gaza over to some international force.

The head of the opposition, Mr Yair Lapid, who did not join the new government with Mr Gantz, said this week on French television: “The endgame is there will be no Hamas in Gaza.”

His goal, he said, is for the Palestinian Authority, which holds power in the West Bank and recognises Israel, would take over. 

Requests for comment from the prime minister’s office and the defence minister were not immediately answered. 

Little mercy

Israeli officials are showing no mercy for ordinary Gazans in their campaign.

They have

cut electricity, fuel and food shipments from Israel

and given residents few choices of where to hide as heavy bombings continue.

At least 1,350 Gazans have been killed to date. 

According to Mr Elai Rettig, an expert of the geopolitics of energy and environment at Israel’s Bar-Ilan University, a power cut will result in water shortages in a week or two.

That is likely to

hinder access to healthcare or drinkable water

for Gaza’s two million people, half of whom are under the age of 18.

The Israeli authorities are worried about a humanitarian corridor into Egypt, saying that would allow Hamas leaders to sneak out.

Mr Rettig also said Hamas has been given aid to fix and upgrade the electrical system in Gaza but had not done so.

Hostage fate

Nearly all analysts in Israel believe ground troops are headed in after the aerial pounding. Many of the dozens of Israeli hostages and some of the soldiers seem likely to meet their deaths. 

And that too is quietly discussed as a price the country is willing to pay to end Hamas’ hold on Gaza and send a broader message to the country’s enemies, including Hezbollah in Lebanon and its Iranian sponsor.

Israel’s biggest deployment of reserves in its history

shows that its leaders are aware how difficult it might be to crush Hamas, but eliminating it from Gaza is an even bigger task.

An Israeli cross-border operation into southern Lebanon to attack Iran-backed Hezbollah in 2006 ended in massive casualties following more than a month of fighting.

Since Saturday’s attack, Hezbollah has fired into Israel every now and then, a reminder that it may be tempted to open a new front in the war after the Gaza ground offensive begins.

The direness of the rhetoric is driven by the images of inhumanity on display last Saturday and the collective memory of Jews being slaughtered in the Holocaust and in pogroms a century ago.

It has made many Israelis feel this

is a war for their very existence,

and they must show how tough they are.

Retired Major-General Yaakov Amidror, who was Mr Netanyahu’s national security adviser a decade ago, said, “We cannot go back to square one. This will take a few months. How many will be killed? Many, many. It’s up to Hamas, which operates from populated areas. This is the last time we allow Hamas to be strong enough to attack Israel.”

Asked who will rule Gaza when Israel is finished, he replied: “The people in Gaza will have to decide what is next. That is their problem.” BLOOMBERG