The Gaza Strip is a 140 square mile territory along the Mediterranean coast, bordered by Israel and Egypt. Its history stretches back thousands of years as part of various empires and civilizations. In modern history, after World War I, Gaza was part of the British Mandate of Palestine. Following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Egypt administered Gaza while absorbing hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees, a diaspora that has since spread throughout the Middle East and even somewhat throughout the world (giving Palestinians the ultimate and stereotypical designation as the refugees of refugees). Israel captured Gaza during the 1967 Six-Day War and for some reason (likely national security…like so much that Israel does) established settlements there. Under Israeli administration (1967-2005), Gaza experienced significant demographic growth and economic challenges. The first Palestinian Intifada (uprising) began in Gaza in 1987. The 1993 Oslo Accords established the Palestinian Authority (PA) and gave it limited self-governance in Gaza. It might be fair to say that this never really was fully bought-into by the Israelis.
Hamas, an Islamic militant group subsequently substantially funded for self-serving interests, by the government of Iran, won Palestinian legislative elections in 2006. In 2007, Hamas took control of Gaza from the PA, leading to a political split among the historic Palestinians, between Gaza and the West Bank. Israel and Egypt subsequently imposed restrictions on movement of people and goods in and out of Gaza, citing security concerns. This highlights the troubled “Monkey in the middle” status of this precarious strip of land between two similar, but highly competitive and historically distant cultures. Major conflicts between Israel and Hamas occurred in 2008-09, 2012, 2014, and later years, resulting in significant casualties and infrastructure damage to Gaza. The territory has faced ongoing humanitarian challenges related to access to basic resources, reconstruction materials, and economic development and opportunity, all while being further hemmed in on the Israeli side by a growing array of Israeli settlements, seemingly intended to do just that…hem in the Gaza Palestinians as part of an apparent concerted effort by Israel, misguided or not, to improve national security.
Throughout this period, Gaza has maintained one of the world’s highest population densities, with most residents being descendants of refugees from 1948, and thus harboring an inordinate amount of historic resentment towards Israel for their lot in life. The territory’s infrastructure, economy, and civilian life have been significantly impacted by recurring conflicts, movement restrictions, and internal political dynamics. And then, of course, as Israel progressed in its overall detente efforts with the Arab world by heading towards a bilateral cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia in 2023, Hamas (probably at the direction of their Shiite masters in Iran…noting that 85% of Palestinian Muslims are Sunni and NOT Shiite), initiated the October 7th attacks and massacre of Israelis around the borders of Gaza. To the casual observer, one might even surmise that that had more to do with Inter-Muslim rivalry than anything else, but that would belie the deep-seated angst the Gaza Palestinians have felt towards Israelis since 1948. To the world, it was an atrocious massacre of mostly innocent and many peace-loving civilians numbering approximately 1,200 with an estimate of 200 taken in hostage as part of a planned Hamas effort to bring global attention back to the plight of the Palestinian situation.
The result of that heinous and violent attack of October 7th has been the near and complete destruction of Gaza as well as the death of some 46,000 of its residents as Israel has systematically and almost fully rooted out the Hamas perpetrators and sympathizers and their well-entrenched and hidden warrens and caches of weaponry (mostly supplied by their friends in Iran). While there is still some mystery surrounding how and why a country born and bred of preparedness that was completely familiar with its cohabitation challenges vis-a-vis Palestinians and was intimately familiar with the movements of Hamas, could have allowed this transgression to occur, it was clear from the start that their plan was the complete annihilation of Hamas and its supporters (a very debatable universe given the close integration of Hamas into Gaza society and even its leaderships’ election into official power in the area), and the complete elimination of any and all weapons caches and arsenals hidden in Gaza. The Western World was initially very supportive of Israel’s justifiable reaction to the attack, but as time has worn on and the decimation of Gaza and the death toll has increased day-by-day, world opinion has shifted. Hamas’ obvious strategy of using the civilians of Gaza, regardless of degree of support for their cause or even their age has drawn lots of scorn.
In February and March of 2023, just seven months before the Hamas attack, Kim and I were in Cairo (215 miles from Gaza) and Jordan on the Dead Sea and down to Petra and Wadi Rum (53 miles from Gaza). It was a relatively peaceful time to visit the region and we did not feel any concern or angst like what has been playing out in the last fifteen months. I wonder how long it will be for American tourists to have a similar feeling about traveling to the region?
Generally speaking, in the language of warfare engagement, a proportionate military response refers to military actions that are proportional in scale and effects to an initial attack or threat, while being militarily necessary to achieve legitimate objectives. This stems from established principles of international law and military ethics. It is generally held that the response should be reasonably related to the scale of the original attack/threat, the force used should be the minimum necessary to achieve legitimate military objectives, the response should avoid unnecessary destruction or civilian casualties, and the military advantage gained must be proportional to any collateral damage. What this calculus does NOT truly incorporate is the deep-seated cultural biases in each direction and the fully objective weighing of military “necessity” against humanitarian concerns. Reasonable people can disagree on what constitutes proportionality in specific situations and all of those differences quickly came to the surface in Gaza. The international community turned against Israel in its sustained efforts and unwillingness to ease off. The Arab community grew increasingly hostile to Israel, led by Shiite Iran and its allies like Hezbollah, but even joined to a degree by the Sunni nations like Saudi Arabia, which paused its detente initiatives. Hostage pressures within Israel and anti-Netanyahu sentiment also boiled over, putting further pressure on a range of activities from humanitarian efforts to cease-fire negotiations. The collateral damage, despite official protestations from Israelis, has appeared to have little consequence on the Israeli leadership, but after 15 months of constant battle, the combination of the burdens of war and global pressure have now led to what might be a “final” cease-fire arrangement and full return of about 100 remaining hostages, both alive and dead.
Just in the few days since this announcement there are signs of distrust and retrenchment on both sides, but the peace initiative, driven by whatever forces are behind the scenes (Biden diplomacy, Egyptian and Qatari intermediation, or Trump bluster), seem to be inching towards consummation and resolution…at last. The world is ready for peace in the Middle East. The world is always ready for peace in the Middle East. The world always doubts the sustainability of peace in the Middle East. And, the world keeps trying, nonetheless, to achieve a lasting peace in the Middle East.