It is clear that Tel Aviv, which never again wants to see a similar attack to that of October 7, does not care about international reactions. A possible ground operation in Gaza, the opening of a new front by Hezbollah, new attacks in Syria, and further developments in the West Bank are among the hot topics on the current agenda. Our region may experience the horrific repercussions of ambitious deterrence.
With Operation Al-Aqsa Flood carried out by Hamas on October 7, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is back on the agenda after many years. Israel, which was shocked, has imposed a “total blockade” on Gaza and is bombarding it heavily. Netanyahu has said, “Our response to the Gaza attacks will change the Middle East,” while Defense Minister Gallant expressed the harshness of Israel’s counterattacks as follows: “No electricity, no water, no food, no fuel, everything will be cut off. We are fighting ‘human animals’ and we will act accordingly.”
These statements indicate that Israel is considering all options, including a ground operation, and that its “war” will not be limited to Gaza. Israeli security forces might think the world is surprised by this attack, however, those who have been following Israel’s increasingly harsh policies in recent years against Palestinians, Jerusalem, and Al-Aqsa Mosque, could hear the bell of a major crisis tolling for some time now.
Those analyzing the attack have drawn attention to Hamas’s military capacity, the weaknesses of Israeli intelligence, the political conflict in the Israeli security services, the protests of the Israeli opposition, and the ineffectiveness of the Iron Dome, Israel’s air defense system. Meanwhile it is noteworthy that the war coincided with the normalization negotiations between Israel and Saudi Arabia. Israel’s assassinations of scientists inside Iran can also be recalled, pointing to Tehran’s assistance to Hamas. Hamas’s unpredictable attack coincides with Iran’s strategic interests, raising the question of whether Tehran kept silent on Israel’s attacks in Iran and Syria for a while, and responded from Gaza when it saw fit…
Read more on Politics Today: The Gaza War Pushes International Community to Rethink Stance
[Politics Today, October 26, 2023]
