Smoke rises following an Israeli bombardment in the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, Saturday, Dec. 2, 2023. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
“I hope the war doesn’t last too long,” is a sentiment I heard time and time again when I first arrived in Israel. It seemed plausible at the time. Now, not so much.
Thursday will mark the two-month anniversary of the Oct. 7 attack, and with Israel pulling its negotiators from Qatar over the weekend, there is no clear end in sight.
As such, the war is also bearing witness to a shift this week. Before the pause took effect in November, the focus of the fighting had been largely concentrated in the northern portion of Gaza — especially in and around Gaza City. But now, the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis is a prime focus for the IDF — dropping leaflets and sending messages telling people in the region to flee south to Rafah.
People on the ground here recognize there is growing pressure from around the world, especially the United States, to put a greater focus on protecting civilian lives. In the meantime, the death toll in Gaza has eclipsed the 15,000 mark this week. Those numbers come from the Health Ministry in Gaza. While leadership with the IDF has cast doubt on the accuracy of the numbers, it is impossible to verify or dispute them adequately at this juncture. Chalk it up to Clausewitz’s famous phrase that you have certainly heard ad nauseam up to this point: the so-called “Fog of War.”
Whether the numbers are entirely accurate or not is largely beyond the point to many around the world: factually, there are civilian casualties in Gaza — some are women, some are children. Officials in the U.S. have been making it clear to the Israeli leadership in recent days they expect the IDF to establish safe zones that will not be hit by airstrikes.
“We do not want to see the same level of civilian casualties. We do not want to see the same level of displacement,” State Department spokesperson Mathew Miller said this week. U.S. officials so far have declined to comment on whether or not they believe Israel is adhering to its commitment to protect civilian lives.
As of this writing, there are still over 130 hostages being held in Gaza by the latest estimation. Like we saw before the pause, families of hostages have been critical of the Israeli government saying they believe the IDF views destroying Hamas as its chief focus, not bringing their loved ones home.
It is not popular here in Israel right now to publicly say the military operation (or more pointedly, destroying Hamas) is of greater importance than freeing hostages, even if one believes the deals the Israelis have cut so far have largely worked to the benefit of Hamas.
Speaking with several Israeli citizens off the record, there is a growing belief here it’s best to not have another pause and to keep up the fighting in Gaza. People will pull us aside and tell us as much, right after they look to their left and right as if to suggest it’s a secretly held belief they don’t want others to know.
Add in the fact that both the White House and Israeli leadership put the blame squarely on Hamas for allowing the truce to disintegrate, many have little faith that another truce can or should be agreed to.
Of course, not everyone feels this way. There are some who believe any deal the Israelis can cut with Hamas that brings hostages home should be made. Groups such as the UN are hoping another pause will be agreed to in order to get more aid in.
I took this video today of sirens blaring in Tel Aviv as people ran for shelter. You can hear explosions in the air above. Nearly two months into the war, Hamas still has the ability to reach Tel Aviv with their rockets. This is a fact that surprises many people on the ground here — and leads them to believe Hamas has been greatly underestimated
Meanwhile, around the region, tension remains high. Hezbollah continues to carry out attacks on northern Israel, while the Houthis in Yemen have taken responsibility for several attacks on ships in the Red Sea. Washington is floating the idea of establishing a task force to deal with the threats there.
The Israel-Hamas war and the situation in the Middle East will surely be a topic of discussion in tomorrow’s Republican debate put on by NewsNation. To find how to watch NewsNation and tune in, be sure to check out our channel finder here.
Photo: Smoke rises following an Israeli bombardment in the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, Saturday, Dec. 2, 2023. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
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