Israel, Hamas, and the elusive ceasefire

To stay in office, Benjamin Netanyahu must continue the war until some sort of ‘victory,' so he cannot possibly compromise with Hamas’ demands. That’s why he is now determined to attack Rafah, Gaza's last relatively intact city. It’s no Stalingrad, but symbolically it serves his purposes well enough.

srael’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was and is absolutely committed to continuing the war. He declared on May 4 that with or without a ceasefire We will enter Rafah and eliminate the remaining Hamas battalions.' His job—and perhaps even his freedom—depend on the war continuing, even if there were a temporary ceasefire, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Opinion

BY GWYNNE DYER

May 6, 2024

LONDON, U.K.—Hamas did not need a ceasefire. It had already demonstrated that it could not be eradicated by Israel. It had achieved its primary goal of wrecking the anti-Iran alliance that was brewing between Israel and the major Arab Gulf states. And it doesn’t care abo...

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