Calm before another storm in Gaza

At least 243 Palestinians, Including 66 children were killed in Gaza. On the Israeli side, 12 people, including two children, were killed. 1900 Palestinians were wounded in Gaza and 355 in Israel. Hundreds of buildings in Gaza were destroyed in debris, damaging tens of billions of kronor. Tragedies are everywhere.

This is the conclusion after the 11-day war between Israel and Hamas, the military operation that the Israeli authorities called “Operation Guardians of the Wall.” Now both parties claim to win, but who lost the least?

In the short term Hamas. Yesterday, Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem celebrated what they thought was a victory. It may be a little exaggeration, but during these days of war Hamas has managed to bring the Palestinians together on a semi-common front. At the same time, the Israelis received a wake-up call by firing rockets from Hamas and to some extent Islamic Jihad. The Iron Dome missile defense system was unable to withstand the massive attacks, as several missiles survived. Perhaps Hezbollah in Lebanon noticed this.

What about Israel?? As usual, the military forces were outright superior, but this war was not about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his political future. It is possible that there will be no new government in Israel before the June 2 deadline expires. So there will be new elections. Only when new opinion polls are published will we see whether Netanyahu has benefited from the war, as he has clearly focused on it.

The losers It is the total population of Gaza and the many Israelis who were indirectly or directly affected by about four thousand small and medium-sized rockets fired from Gaza. But the worst thing is that this war did not solve a single problem. The Israeli isolation of Gaza continues. Hamas and the Islamic war will soon produce new missiles. If nothing exciting happens, it is only a matter of time before the start of the war or actions of the next war. If the Israeli police again enter the Al-Haram al-Sharif (Temple Square) where the Al-Aqsa Mosque is located, it will not be long before new Hamas rockets are fired at Jerusalem.

The only country The one who can do something to ease the tension is the United States. President Joe Biden proved to be a true friend of Israel in the early days, but he became more balanced as international criticism grew. Perhaps he will have to focus on the Middle East a little more than he has been planning in the near future, and perhaps he could be more positive than his predecessor Donald Trump.

It is permissible at least to hope.