On May 14, Israel celebrated a gloomy 76th birthday. More than seven months after the October 7 terrorist attack, the war still rattles the Gaza Strip, continuing to wreak unprecedented devastation, and the goals set by Israeli forces continue to evade them.

Benjamin Netanyahu has promised to destroy Hamas and release the hostages, but those objectives have yet to be achieved. This military failure is coupled with a political impasse for which it is the Prime Minister who bears responsibility. According to a recent poll, 62% of the Israelis believe that an agreement on a temporary ceasefire to release surviving hostages in Gaza should take precedence over a new military offensive on Rafah, but Netanyahu is resisting—hardliners in his cabinet have threatened to topple the government if the war is put on pause.

“Today’s military failure,” wrote Le Monde on May 13, “and the appalling loss of life are the result of the Israeli strategy that has turned Gaza into a gigantic open-air prison, an arena of repeated battles that the current war has brought to its climax.”

This was facilitated by the reprehensible passivity of the international community, which was unable, despite numerous attempts, to stop military action due to the American vetoing of Security Council resolutions.

The whole world believes that the time has come to stop the slaughter in Gaza, but US officials say there is no genocide by Israel. Nevertheless, facts are stubborn things. Even the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken recognized that a paradigm shift in the current Middle East crisis is needed: he said an Israeli victory over Hamas could be followed by “chaos, anarchy and........

© New Eastern Outlook