Israel’s war against Hamas has gone swimmingly so far, and the current chapter may come to a close soon, but Israeli officials are not in full agreement on how to handle the postwar situation.
On Oct. 7, 2023, the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas massacred around 1,200 Israeli civilians and took another 250 hostage. Israel’s response was to assemble all its military might and wage full-scale war against Hamas.
Israel’s operations were riddled with difficulties from the onset of the war, having to look out for terrorists waiting in ambush behind every corner, locating and navigating the Gaza Strip’s extensive underground tunnel system, and avoiding unnecessary civilian deaths. Israel faced all this amid hostile antisemitic protests from the ignorant masses of the Western world and the Islamic world.
Despite all its hardships, Israel has made incredible progress. Israel has cleared most of the Gaza Strip north of HaBesor Stream, surrounded Gaza City, and cleared major portions of the southern part of the Gaza Strip. Palestinian casualties have reached 25,000, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Meanwhile, Israeli casualties pale in comparison at only 219, according to the Israel Defense Forces. Of the hostages, 100 have been recovered.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hinted at a possible end to the war today when he told his ministers that he believes its third stage should take another six months to complete. With the end in sight, people are now wondering what comes next. How does Israel plan to get the remaining hostages back, and what is to be done with the Gaza Strip and its former residents?
Netanyahu said last Thursday that he will not make any deals with Hamas until Israel has “control over the entire territory west of the Jordan River.” He also stands firm on continuing the war until Hamas returns all remaining hostages. The prime minister faces increased division and scrutiny from within for his refusal to immediately end the war in exchange for the hostages.
That same day, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant sent out what he called his “day after” plan. It cuts Hamas completely out of Palestinian governance, places allied ministers in administrative positions to oversee civil procedures in Gaza, and splits border responsibility between Israel and Egypt.
Political infighting has developed between groups who hold Netanyahu and Gallant’s stances, those who want an immediate resolution to return the remaining hostages home, and those who want to effectively annex Gaza back into Israeli territory and inhabit it.
Pursuing the return of all hostages and securing the entirety of Gaza as nonnegotiable terms is the right move. The difficulty is achieving this before Hamas is removed from power. To ensure the return of the hostages, Israel has to either bend the knee to Hamas before certain victory, hurt Hamas so badly that it bends first, or eliminate Hamas’s leadership structure. Hamas has suffered too many casualties to last much longer. If Netanyahu believes half a year is all it will take to break Hamas, then that is the most optimal solution.
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Palestinians cannot be trusted this soon to govern themselves until their hostility has declined and there is no terrorist action in Gaza. Having prudent American and Israeli administrators govern the region alongside sympathetic Arab and United Nations representatives should give Gaza a solid balance until the Palestinians are ready to properly govern themselves.
Regardless of how the postwar situation plays out, Israel will have to balance the desires of the international powers, the needs of its people, and the potential of further resistance from Palestinians in its final policy plan.