Asia

After Hamas’s deadly attacks on October 7, a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip by the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) appeared inevitable. Benjamin Netanyahu’s government apparently had little choice, given that the attack shocked Israel to its very core. The IDF failed to prevent or plan for the attack, while the government’s hubristic view that Israel could tacitly support Hamas’s rule in Gaza, thereby dividing the Palestinians while indefinitely containing their aspirations for statehood, proved fundamentally flawed. But nearly two-and-a-half weeks into the war, Israel’s ground invasion has yet to materialise. Instead, both sides have settled into an all-too-familiar pattern of tit-for-tat rocket and airstrike exchanges. Why, then, have Israel’s actions not matche

For Ukraine, the prolongation of the crisis in the Middle East will have ambiguous consequences. Two weeks after the Hamas attack on Israel, it is clear that the crisis is dragging on, and it will develop somewhat differently from previous similar crises. In the near future, we will likely see its next phase - a ground operation by Israeli troops (IDF) in the Gaza Strip against Hamas. Much will depend on how effective it will be, how many victims there will be, and how the Arab world will react to this operation. Even according to Israeli military estimates, this operation will last several weeks, or even two to three months. So, perhaps, at least until the end of the year, the war in the Gaza Strip and around Israel will still be in its hot phase. It will most likely be a war betwe...