Ceasefire ends in Gaza
Israeli army carries out air attacks in the north of Gaza Strip
Israel says fighter jets striking Gaza
Heavy clashes reported
Analysis: Why Israel’s military wanted to end the Gaza truce, and what now?
Israel has warned that the war will spread to the ‘whole’ of Gaza. That could force other nations to step in.
Published On 1 Dec 20231 Dec 2023
The truce is over. Nerve-racking negotiations had continued in Qatar on Thursday, after a meagre extension of the humanitarian pause, a mere 24 hours, was secured minutes before the expiry of the previously agreed term.
But on Friday morning, fighting resumed, as the deadline for the pause expired. The Israeli military issued a statement saying that it had resumed fighting against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, accusing the armed Palestinian group of breaching the terms of the truce by firing into Israeli territory. There were reports of explosions and gunfire in the northern Gaza Strip.
The Israeli military has long been advocating for the continuation of war. On Wednesday I explained the thinking of the army’s general staff: unless they are told that the war is over, they assume it is not. Thus, they prefer to continue it as soon as possible, to get it over with as soon as possible, preferably without any stoppages that create indecision and weaken morale.
From the very decision to follow the attacks of October 7 with a hard armed response, the military approach was advocated most aggressively by Defence Minister Yoav Gallant. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu maintained a hawkish posture throughout the crisis, but he preferred to appear as the overall leader, leaving the strictly military affairs in the hands of the former career soldier.
Gallant, until recently an active general who started his career as a naval commando and led the Israeli invasion of Gaza in 2010, is not known to mince words. Earlier this year he warned Hezbollah that Israel would “return Lebanon to the Stone Age” if attacked.
At the beginning of operations against Gaza, he referred to Israel’s enemies as “human animals”. Members of the military, from top generals down to the last reservist, have little doubt that what Gallant says reflects official policy.
On Monday, the last day of the original four-day pause and before the announcement of its first extension, by two days, he made his desires and intentions clear, telling a group of officers and soldiers that the truce would not last much longer: “You have a few days. When we return to fighting, we will apply the same force and more, and we will fight across the whole of the Strip.”
It can be assumed that Gallant represents and voices the policy of the Israeli cabinet towards Gaza much more accurately and precisely than his troubled and embattled prime minister, who is increasingly merely trying to secure his political survival.
Gallant wants to continue the war because he believes the military can be more successful the sooner the fighting resumes. But he might have other things on his mind: Despite the Israeli political tradition of not questioning national leadership during an ongoing war, Netanyahu is increasingly being grilled by his former associates, not just political opponents.
It is now clear that despite his notorious political wiliness, Netanyahu will have to face responsibility not just for the failure to prevent the intelligence humiliation and security calamity of October 7, but also for his stubborn insistence on politically divisive judicial reforms at all costs, despite warnings that it would harm the country. The writing on the wall is that Israel will finally rid itself of Netanyahu as soon as the war is over.