This Sunday marks 100 days of war between Israel and Hamas. It is already the longest and deadliest between Israel and the Palestinians since the birth of the country in 1948 and there is no sign of it ending.
It erupted in the wake of the Hamas terror massacre on Oct. 7 that took the country by surprise and shattered the nation's faith in its leaders. Israel responded with weeks of intense airstrikes in the Gaza Strip before expanding the operation to a ground offensive.
Their stated goal has been to crush the pro-Iranian ultra-Islamic group and free the more than 2024 hostages they took in that assault. The offensive has wreaked unprecedented destruction in the enclave, but more than three months later, the fundamentalist group remains largely intact and the hostages remain in captivity. The Israeli military now says the war will last all of <>.
While the public has supported the military's war effort, it remains deeply traumatized. The country seems to be reliving every day on October 7, when more than 1200 people in a score of kibbutzins in the south of the country were killed in their homes, elderly, women and even children.
From there they took the hostages, from babies to their grandparents. Posters of the captives line the country's public streets, and people wear T-shirts calling on leaders to "bring them home." They demand that as a priority.
Tribute to those killed and abducted by Hamas on October 7, in Tel Aviv, Israel. Photo: AFP
Stories of Tragedy and Heroism
Israeli news channels devote their broadcasts to 24-hour coverage of the war. They endlessly broadcast stories of tragedy and heroism on October 7, stories of hostages and their families, tearful funerals of soldiers killed in combat, and reports from Gaza from correspondents smiling alongside the troops.
There is little discussion or compassion for the rising death toll and deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza. Plans for the post-war Strip are rarely mentioned.
Something remains constant. While chastened Israeli security officials have apologized and signaled they will step down after the war, highly questioned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remains firmly entrenched.
Despite a sharp drop in his public approval ratings, Netanyahu has resisted calls to apologize, resign or investigate the failures of his government associated with far-right and ultra-nationalist parties that allude to building a greater Israel by expelling Palestinians from all territories. An idea that infuriates the Jewish nation's North American and European allies.
Historian Tom Segev says the war will shake the country for years and generations to come. The failures of October 7 and the inability to release the hostages home have fostered a widespread sense of lack of faith in the government. "Israelis like their wars to go well. This war is not going so well," he said. "A lot of people have a feeling that something very, very deep is wrong here."
A demonstration in Tel Aviv, to demand the release of hostages held by Hamas, this Saturday. Photo: AP
Destruction and famine in the Gaza Strip
Conditions before Oct. 7 were already difficult in Gaza after a suffocating blockade imposed by Israel and Egypt following the 2007 takeover of Hamas, an enemy of Ramallah's secular national government.
Today, the territory is unrecognizable. Experts say the Israeli bombardment is among the most intense in modern history. Gaza's health authorities report that the death toll has exceeded 23,000 people, about 1% of the territory's population. Thousands more are still missing or seriously injured.
More than 80% of the inhabitants have been displaced and tens of thousands of people are now crammed into sprawling tent camps in southern Gaza that are also under heavy attack by Israel.
Half of the buildings in the territory have been destroyed. The human cost is extraordinary. The United Nations estimates that about a quarter of Gaza's population dies of starvation. According to the UN, only 15 of Gaza's 36 hospitals are partially operational, leaving the medical system on the brink of collapse. The children have missed months of school and have no prospect of returning to school.
"Gaza has become uninhabitable," wrote Martin Griffiths, the U.N. humanitarian chief.
A building destroyed by an Israeli bombardment in Gaza City on October 7, following a savage attack by Hamas. Photo. AP
The war has spread to some extent across the Middle East, threatening to escalate into a broader conflict pitting a U.S.-led alliance against Iranian-backed militant groups.
Almost immediately after the Hamas attack, Lebanon's powerful fundamentalist Hezbollah militia began attacks on Israel, triggering a low-intensity war on the border. That tension escalated after a Jan. 2 Israeli airstrike that killed a senior Hamas official in Beirut in a neighborhood under Hezbollah protection.
The conflict with the Houthis in the Red Sea
At the same time, Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have repeatedly targeted civilian oil tankers and container ships in the Red Sea, a key route for global trade, prompting the U.S. and Britain to begin bombing the ultra-Islamic organization's bases. Another chapter in the nightmare is the frequent firing on U.S. targets of pro-Iranian groups in Iraq or Syria.
The U.S. has sent warships to the Mediterranean and Red Sea to contain the violence.
Throughout his tenure, Netanyahu has tried to sideline the Palestinian issue. Former presidents such as Ehud Barak accuse him of having allowed Hamas financing to divide the Palestinian path. He dismisses the government in Ramallah, which Washington is betting on for a future solution that governs both territories.
But Israel is in a trap. Agreements with allies in the region, particularly Saudi Arabia, are subject to the realization of the two-state solution, that is, the birth of a concrete homeland for the Palestinian people.
The Israeli government has sought some commitment from wealthy Arab crowns for the reconstruction of Gaza, but any possibility in that regard is tied to the fulfillment of the mandate resisted by Netanyahu's ultramontane cabinet partners. Just before Oct. 7, the prime minister was boasting of his efforts to forge ties with Saudi Arabia.
"The painful events of the past 100 days have shown beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Palestinian issue and the Palestinian people cannot be ignored," said Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. As the war drags on and the death toll rises, there is no clear path forward as to when the fighting will end or what will follow.
Israel wants to maintain a long-term military presence in Gaza. The U.S. does not want Israel to reoccupy the territory. Rebuilding will take years. It is unclear who will pay for it if Israel does not adopt a realistic path.
"Our life 100 days ago was excellent. We had cars and houses," said Halima Abu Daqa, a Palestinian woman who was displaced from her home in southern Gaza and is now living in a tent camp.
And he concluded: "We have been deprived of everything and there is nothing left."
Source: AP