By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use. Close
SvennoJ on 11 May 2024
Edit Thread
JRPGfan said:

So any idea how much longer this will take? Isreal themselves claim they have gotten rid of most of hamas strongholds right?
and now it seems hamas wants the war to end (while isreal is like "just a few more left").

Meanwhile the people there suffer.

Netanyahu and his right wing war cabinet have already planned to stay in Gaza for the rest of the year. Resistance from Qassam Brigades and PIJ (Palestinian Islamic Jihad) keeps popping back up. Israel has bombed and raided the Zeitoun Neigborhood in Gaza City 3 or 4 times already.

You can't wipe out Hamas militarily. While Israel claims they have killed 14,000 fighters so far (out of estimate 30,000) others very much doubt those numbers. Some say it's only around 6,000 actual fighters that they might have killed. Plus they have no shortage of desperate people, who have lost everything, to recruit from.

But maybe the US can persuade Netanyahu to declare 'victory' after raiding Rafah with all the disasters that will bring with it. Netanyahu is in no hurry to do that though. His only way to stay in power is to continue the war. The IDF is ready to invade Southern Lebanon as well in case a temporary ceasefire happens. Or maybe it would finally allow a temporary ceasefire to happen in Gaza if the IDF starts invading Southern Lebanon :/

Israel is not "just a few more left". They're there to stay in Gaza while Hamas wants them out. That's the fundamental difference that holds up any ceasefire agreement. Israel only wants a pause while Hamas agreed to a change in wording (by the US) that mentions sustained quiet. Netanyahu didn't accept that, hence he rejected the 'sustained quiet' deal Hamas agreed to, effectively with the US. It doesn't seem the US is going to press on that as after Hamas accepted the deal and Netanyahu complained, the US suddenly denied Hamas accepted the deal.

So I really have no idea. There is no clear end goal and Biden remains weak. He wants to press for a ceasefire and more aid yet caves in quickly to pressure from Israel and Republicans every time. Biden needs to do something though, he doesn't have much time left.

The UN, UNSC, ICC and ICJ all proved meaningless. While a few countries have halted arms shipments, only Turkey so far has put any real sanctions on Israel. 99% of Israel's weapons are coming from the US and Germany, those two need to step up but are not showing any signs of changing policy. The one shipment Biden paused is negligible and Leahy law has been circumvented.

My only hope atm is the student movement in the USA. The bigger and the longer it grows, the more pressure on Biden. The opposition in Israel is far too small and while most people in Israel are not for the genocide, they're not against either. They simply don't care.