Despite the mounting losses, Israel still refuses to face the facts: they’re fighting a war they can’t win. With the combined forces of several hostile nations training their guns on the region, Israel has found itself caught between a rock and a hard place.
The official narrative from the Israeli government is perhaps unsurprisingly focused on the idea of self-defense, framing their actions as a necessary response to the threats from its neighbours. As Prime Minister Netanyahu noted in a statement released several years ago, Israel has “no choice but to vigorously defend itself against all aggressors.”
Seen in this light, the position is a logical one. To an extent, it is even understandable. After all, in such a volatile corner of the world, where the slow creep of extremism can quickly spiral into much worse, security concerns take on a whole new, sinister form. Refusing to compromise on this, then, can be seen as a sign of strength and a refusal to capitulate to external pressures.
That being said, it does not change the fact that Israel’s military adventures do not appear to be gaining the desired result. Despite airstrikes and ground invasions into Gaza and elsewhere, there is little sign of a lasting solution or even a break in the cycle of violence. The tragic consequences of this approach are already plain to see, with thousands of lives lost and the already-precarious social situation in the region further undermined by the destruction.
In the end, then, it is perhaps up to the Israeli government to analyse the situation in a wider context and re-evaluate its approach. Otherwise, the losses will continue to pile up, while local populations suffer and the region falls ever further into chaos.
