Israel’s window of legitimacy in Gaza is shrinking
fires. Civilians have been evacuated and soldiers in helmets guard the junctions. Every hour or so, Hizbullah missiles explode inside the border, and Israel launches a counter-barrage aimed at the Iran-backed militia.
This is a country poised for war. To the east Israel is bombing Syrian airfields thought to be used to ship arms to militants. To the west an American aircraft-carrier strike group floats in the Mediterranean, with a second on its way to the region, to try to deter Iran and its proxies.
In the south a vast Israeli invasion force awaits an order to enter the battle grounds of Gaza. Read all our coverage of the war between Israel and Hamas Fifteen days after Hamas’s attack on Israel, that ground invasion has yet to begin. One reason for the delay is a desperate flurry of last-minute diplomacy.
On October 20th two American-Israeli hostages were released by Hamas after talks brokered by Qatar. A day later an international conference in Cairo called for a cease-fire. A limited amount of aid is now flowing across from Egypt into Gaza and negotiations over more hostage releases are ongoing.
The delay also reflects debate within Israel’s government about what kind of war it wants to fight: hard and fast, or patient and long? On October 19th field commanders finalised operational plans and the war cabinet met in Tel Aviv. After seven hours, the meeting chaired by Binyamin Netanyahu, the prime minister, ended inconclusively. Strained relationships and stress may be impeding decision making.
The impetuous defence minister, Yoav Gallant, supported by some generals, wants to rush into another short, sharp war. Mr Netanyahu is chronically hesitant. But Israel is also under pressure from allies to recalibrate its plans
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