Israel won the 2021 Gaza war

• Date: 26 May 2021
• Author: Prof. Efraim Inbar
• Published date: 26 May 2021
• Publication title: Israel National News (Israel)

Based on these two parameters, Israel can be declared the winner of the recent confrontation.

Material damage is a quantifiable indicator. The world can see on television the magnitude of the destruction in Gaza. By contrast, only 130 Hamas rockets fell in Israeli civilian centers (out of 4,300 rockets and missiles launched from Gaza). Israel's Iron Dome air-defense system intercepted 90 percent of the incoming missiles, seriously minimizing the material damage and casualties in Israel. In addition, Israel attained its declared goal: the degradation of Hamas's military capabilities.

The second parameter, regarding the endurance of each side, is more difficult to measure. But it would appear that Israel won the war in this regard as well.

It was Hamas that asked for a ceasefire to end Israeli destruction of its military infrastructure and the hunting of its leadership

It was Hamas that asked for a ceasefire to end Israeli destruction of its military infrastructure and the hunting of its leadership. It was Hamas that was less willing than Israel to continue to pay the price of military conflict. Hamas sympathizers all over the world demanded a truce. In contrast, Israelis (including hard-hit residents of the Gaza-envelope communities) were ready to continue the war.

Most Israelis likely have mixed feelings about how this encounter ended and wonder whether enough damage was done to Hamas to deter the terrorist organization. This indicates great social resilience and willingness to sustain pain on the part of the Israeli public.

The war ended when it did primarily because Israel ran out of worthwhile and attainable Hamas targets to strike from the air (not because of international pressure on Israel). This underscores the limits of Israel's remarkable military intelligence and of its offensive airpower. In a next round of fighting, an Israeli ground invasion might bring about better results, but that could be very costly in casualties. Moreover, Israel's need to counter more dangerous challenges from Hezbollah and Iran to the north mandates caution and the preservation of fighting forces for that front.

War is not always a zero-sum game. In this case, Hamas indeed scored some successes, primarily in the intra-Palestinian arena. It proved to be the "carrier of the flame of resistance to Israel," with an emphasis on the fight for Jerusalem. However, Hamas's capability to capitalize on this achievement is limited. It failed to change the status quo in Jerusalem...