The Israel-Hamas conflict reaches a new level

(PIC : TIME ALGEBRA X) The Israel-Hamas conflict reaches a new level A new October war has begun. The largest attack against Israel in decades was launched by the Palestinian militant group Hamas early on Saturday morning. Atl Five thousand rockets were launched into Israel from Gaza, , black smoke towers emerged from where they stuck . Palestinian militants swooped into Israeli settlements on motorcycles, vehicles, and even paragliders. According to reports, there have been over a hundred Israeli deaths and several injuries. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared, “We are at war, not in an operation, not in rounds of fighting—at war,” after Israeli forces launched airstrikes in Gaza in response to Hamas’ attack. The attacks on Israel this morning are only the beginning of this conflict. Netanyahu has already promised to “exact a huge price,” and will have little interest in backing down from that vow. This is not going to be a small tit-for-tat; the unparalleled nature of the attack won’t allow for it. Surprise attacks have happened before, and the fact that this one occurred fifty years and one day after the start of the Yom Kippur War is a reference that will be forever etched in the history books. But for years, Israel and Hamas (and other Palestinian militant groups) have engaged in multiple rounds of rocket fire from Gaza and attacks, followed by Israeli responses striking the Gaza Strip. This is new. It is not the five-thousand-plus rockets that have already been fired from Gaza into Israel over the last twelve hours that’s shocking Israelis and the world. It’s the complexity of what was an extremely well-planned and well-prepared attack in which Hamas terrorists infiltrated Israel by land, by sea, and even by air (via paragliders); embarking on an unprovoked and indiscriminate killing spree of men, women, and children in their homes, on the streets, and even at a nature party in the desert. This was an intelligence failure; it could not be otherwise. It was a security failure, undermining what was thought to be an aggressive and successful layered approach toward Gaza by Israel. But the examination of intel and security failures, which will surely come first, has to take a back seat to the reality of a war that is almost certainly just starting. Now acc to an Article published in NBC international news, The surprise attack by Hamas on Israel suggests a massive intelligence failure as the Israeli government appeared blindsided by the infiltration of Hamas fighters across the southern border and the launch of thousands of rockets. The Hamas assault by air, land and sea also raised questions as to why U.S. intelligence agencies apparently did not see it coming, experts and former intelligence officials said. For Hamas, the provocation (and the embarrassment to Israel) is the point Why would Hamas launch an unusually ambitious and deadly terror attack against Israel that has already resulted in massive Israeli retaliation and the loss of Palestinian civilian lives? According to Richard Libaron , senior Fellow with Atlantic Council’s Middle East programmes , Three reasons are there for this : A. Because that’s what Hamas does. The historical reason for Palestinian terror attacks remains the principal rationale: The attacks draw attention to the fact that the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians has not been resolved. From the Palestinian perspective, their situation is getting substantially worse under the right-wing Israeli government. B. The attacks will shift the narrative away from normalization of ties between Saudi Arabia and Israel. Given the unprecedented scale of the operation, planning for these attacks clearly predates perceived recent progress in normalizing ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia. While not likely the main driver of the attacks, Hamas’s actions send a clear reminder to the Saudis that the Palestinian issue should not be treated as just another subtopic in normalization negotiations. For them, it is the only topic. C. The Hamas attacks will earn the group a good deal of respect among Palestinians on the West Bank, where some may be inspired to launch less dramatic attacks. The conditions for a third Intifada are already present. The respect for Hamas’ actions will extend to Arabs in the broader region, even among citizens of those states that have established ties with Israel. The fact that Hamas was able to launch such a serious challenge to Israel will be celebrated, and retaliatory actions by Israel will be condemned. How do Palestinians view Hamas? The political bifurcation of the West Bank and Gaza is widely unpopular: a June 2023 poll [PDF] by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PCPSR) showed that one-third of Palestinians consider it the most damaging development for their people since the state of Israel’s 1948 creation. The same poll found that more than half of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank would vote for Hamas’s Haniyeh over PA President Mahmoud Abbas in a presidential election, while just one-third of Palestinians would choose Abbas. Additionally, Abbas has indefinitely postponed national elections scheduled for 2021, citing Israel’s alleged refusal to let Palestinians in East Jerusalem vote, though observers suspect that Abbas aims to prevent a likely Hamas victory. Hammas has been designated as a terrorist organisation by many countries . However it is being supported by Iran , Turkey and some other middle East countries . There is no doubt that killing innocent civilians is a war crime. There is every possibility of an escalation of violence, and it must stop immediately. Iran is fully supporting Hammas and this can go further to worse . Long ago, Israel destroyed Iran’s nuclear facilities due to their alleged support for Palestinian groups. Today, there is every chance that the war can escalate, and Iran is waiting for an attack on it. The world is still grappling with the Ukraine war. Now, this fresh conflict will further aggravate the crisis. The question is, will the international powers now intervene in Palestine as they have done in Syria? This attack on Israel is their 9/11 moment. The response from their side will be lethal. But it needs to be seen whether it will be confined to Gaza or cross other international borders. If that happens, we are living in uncertain times now. Will the West join hands in ‘punishing’ Iran? That is the biggest question. Hamas or no Hamas, the real challenge for Israel would be dealing with Iran. Meanwhile, the brutalities that are being projected on TV channels and the celebrations of killing innocent lives, humiliating soldiers and women, cannot be supported or appreciated. We Indians unequivocally condemn them. Don’t deny people and soldiers their dignity in conflict. Women are the biggest victims of war. Attempts should be made to end this conflict. For that, both countries must come out of denial mode. Also, international players need to sit and talk honestly. Decide on the international borders of Palestine and Israel and resolve the conflict. Indian Muslims have always supported Peace . We can’t support terrorism . Dar Javed Writes on Polity, Governance Art and craft.