War or terrorism 3

[mids2019]

A continued discussion on the Gaza conflict

So the last thread went....

I think a question a lot of us have currently is whether the Israeli ground offensive is on hold for diplomatic reasons? The Israelis have been steadfast in their resolve to destroy Hamas but I get a sense the US and West are looking a little nervously at the looming escalation of the conflict and the continued images coming out of Gaza.

I really feel Hamas perfectly understood that the Israeli twosome to the horrors of the terrorist attacks would gain international attention and maybe banked on this to pressurise Israel into some sort of pause.

We are now in a kind of limbo where Israel is waiting to make the call to move to ground operations as promised but the threats of Iran and Hezbollah are making the West think.

Personally I feel Israel needs to start the ground operation to dismantle Hamas and continued delay will only play into Hamas ' hands as it allows the media to concentrate more on humanitarian aspects of the war than on the legitimate need for Israel to defend itself.

Response not twosome

Defend it self ??? It’s killed 5000 people . Indiscriminate bombing . How can an occupying force defend itself from the oppressed / occupied?

My prediction of how things will proceed

Israel will initiate the ground offensive when it is deemed militarily advantageous to them and after they have taken out as many targets as they can from the air first.

The ground offensive will all be over by year end, or if not, definately by Spring.

Hamas will be destroyed and so will Gaza really - but the Gazans will rebuild it slowly.

There will be periodic terrorist attacks on Israel and also other western countries but we will have to learn to live with that.

I don't have any predictions about what will happen if Hezbollah use Lebanon as a staging post to attack Israel but I DO think the younger generation of Lebanese have no problem with Israel and won't side with Hezbollah.

Israel has no fear of Iran and might use a tactical nuclear weapon on Tehran if it starts just to show them what they can do. The first one won't make Iran stop but another one might.

So, thats my prediction. Gonna watch this thread now and come back to it at Easter to see how it panned out.

@NotSuchASmugMarried

I think that is entirely feasible and may very well be how things pan out.

I think the question is whether the Israelis are stalling the ground offensive for operational or political reasons. It seems the army are ready to go and are seemingly frustrated by the delay and are awaiting political go ahead. At a political level there has been a stream of foreign heads visiting Israel and as well as offering solidarity I am sure private discussions will have been held about the risks of a ground incursion.

I think your prediction will probably happen but the caveat is pressure brought to hear by humanitarian groups and portions of western populations who very much support the Palestinian cause. Could western governments convince Israel to perhaps modify some of the Israeli plans?

One thing I think is going to be important is how the narrative is controlled both by Israel and Palestinians but also the media in general. The civilian deaths in Gaza may be making Western powers a little concerned in private of not publically and I think some countries don't wish to be seen as losing moral authority of we have a protracted ground war with many civilian deaths.

I think Hamas may have been expecting support by now from Iran or Hezbollah which has not been forthcoming so maybe are now regretting there heinous attacks on the 7th. It looks like Hamas are desperately using the hostages to stall an invasion as they are damned certain not being motivated by humanitarian concerns when releasing them.

I think ultimately Hamas will be destroyed in some way but the repercussions are going to be widely felt and I do fear there is going to be some sort of terrorist attack in the West due to support of Isreal.

@mids2019 Agree with everything you've said too, except I don't think Israel care much what western nations or the press think or say.

"It looks like Hamas are desperately using the hostages to stall an invasion as they are damned certain not being motivated by humanitarian concerns when releasing them"

I thought that Israel wouldn't even negotiate on the hostages - that they would just take the loss. Reading your above comment though I think you're right.

I think the best we can hope for now is a quick victory for Israel and for this to be over soon.

Not sure why my post has been deleted , the Palestinians have EVERY right to defend themselves against the occupiers