Israel has fulfilled one of its main goals in Gaza by eliminating Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar a year after his militants killed 1,200 people and kidnapped more than 200 others.
Months ago, that might have seemed like one reason for Israel to pull back from the Hamas-run Gaza Strip and help ease a standoff with Iran that has convulsed the Middle East.
Right away both US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris called for an end to the war, while Israeli domestic pressure mounted to use this moment to bring the hostages home.
But as Israel has enmeshed itself deeper in the Palestinian enclave to the south and in an escalating battle with Lebanon-based Hezbollah to its north, it’s showing no signs it seeks any cease-fire. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel’s mission in Gaza is “yet to be completed.”
Tehran, which backs both militant groups attacking Israel, has also directly escalated, firing some 200 missiles at Israeli targets on Oct. 1. Israel has vowed to respond, prompting calls from Washington that it avoids hitting Iran’s oil and nuclear sites.
The triggers for a broader war have long shifted beyond Gaza, which has been left in ruins and where the death toll has reached at least 42,000, according to local health officials.
The conflict has also been key for how Netanyahu and his far-right government hold on to power at the top of Israel’s fractious domestic politics.
The desire to push on regardless of the wider cost is, however, also a reflection of public sentiment — Israelis still overwhelmingly back the military’s actions against Hamas and Hezbollah, both designated terrorist groups by the US, and see their country as surrounded by enemies.
Netanyahu described Sinwar’s killing on Wednesday as “the beginning of the day after Hamas.”
What that looks like for the rest of the Middle East is far from certain. — Sylvia Westall