The continuation of the war in Gaza disgraces Israel

Hindustan Times

3 days ago

THE WAR Israel waged against Iran was short, with precision strikes, clear goals and results that enhanced its military prestige. The war against Hamas in Gaza has become endless, indiscriminate and militarily pointless. It is turning Israel into a pariah. This newspaper has called for a ceasefire since 2024. Now, after weeks of talks in Qatar, the time has come for America to use all its power to bring about a negotiated end to the fighting. That is essential in order to avoid mass starvation. It is also in Israel's national self-interest and would open up a genuine chance to build a government for Gaza that excludes what is left of Hamas.
The situation is dire. Over 60% of buildings are damaged and 2m people have been displaced, many of them crammed into the centre of the strip. Although predictions of famine in 2024 by aid groups and the UN proved wrong, the threat today is real and urgent. Israel has sought to open corridors to supply aid, bypassing the UN-run system that Hamas may profit from. However, the volumes of food reaching Gazans are disgracefully low. Even if more convoys arrive, people will starve without a ceasefire. The hellscape they live in, overrun by trigger-happy Israeli forces, gangs and Hamas, is too dangerous to walk through to pick up supplies.
The war now has no military logic. The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) control about 70% of the strip. Hamas is defeated. Its leaders are dead, its military capacity is a tiny fraction of what it was on October 7th 2023 and its fighters are contained in pockets making up 10-20% of the territory. Hamas's backer, Iran, is humbled. Operations by the IDF are achieving little. The inadequate provision of aid to civilians on terrain that is, in effect, under occupation is a war crime. A plan by hardliners in Israel's government to corral Gazans into a permanent 'humanitarian city' would amount to ethnic cleansing.
Many Israelis agree that a ceasefire is needed. Although only 21% of them believe in a two-state solution, over 70% want the hostages to be released and the war to be over. The IDF's generals do, too, and believe the humanitarian-city plan is illegal. An overwhelming majority of politicians outside the ruling coalition want a ceasefire and recognise the huge damage now being done to Israel's global standing. The ruling coalition itself, led by Binyamin Netanyahu, no longer has a majority in the Knesset, Israel's parliament, and faces an election within 15 months. Mr Netanyahu has prolonged the war in Gaza in order to prevent hardliners from bringing down his coalition, but that strategy has run its course. He needs to pivot.
The gap between the two sides in the talks has shrunk as an enfeebled Hamas has made concessions. The remaining differences include issues such as the stationing of the IDF inside Gaza during the initial 60-day phase of a ceasefire agreement. These are resolvable. The weakness of Hamas means that the 60-day period could be used to create a new governing body, backed by the Palestinian Authority. This could take control of Gaza in the second phase, with Western and Arab support. Because the past two years have shown up Hamas's incompetence, cynicism and utter indifference to Palestinian life, many Gazans would support this.
Two things need to happen. Qatar must force Hamas's remaining leaders, many of whom live in Doha, to sign a ceasefire deal, using the threat of expulsion and a further funding crackdown. And Donald Trump must force Mr Netanyahu to end the war, using all the clout America has as Israel's ally. White House pressure has ended most of Israel's wars since independence in 1948. Granting it so much latitude in this conflict has demonstrated that America is still essential. Mr Trump's furious intervention in June brought the Israel-Iran war to an end. He must immediately deploy that anger and muscle for the good of Gaza.
Editor's note (July 29th): This photograph, which originally illustrated our leader, was wrongly captioned. It omitted to say that Muhammad al-Matouq, an emaciated 18-month-old child, suffers from a pre-existing condition. We have replaced it because we are unable to know to what extent the decline in his health was caused by the incipient famine in Gaza, his lack of medical care or the inevitable progression of his underlying illness.
Subscribers to The Economist can sign up to our Opinion newsletter, which brings together the best of our leaders, columns, guest essays and reader correspondence.