Faced with the strenuous and stainless pearly with which Israel ordered the invasion and substantial annihilation of Gaza City, the world wonders what the real objective of Prime Minister Netanyahu is. What is the strategy beyond the tactic? What are the last purposes behind the most immediate purposes, which – as announced – are the liberation of the hostages and the destruction of Hamas?

Many ask questions, but few – with the exception of the current US administration – manage to identify an Israeli plan that does not coincide with the elimination not only of the perspective of the “two states” (already set, and who knows how much), but even of the presence of the Palestinians very in the provinces of Gaza and, perhaps, also, also of the West Bank. Territories that Israel granted by virtue of the formula “lands in exchange for peace”, and which until 7 October 2023 had guaranteed a balance at least acceptable.

To correctly frame Gaza’s disaster and judge the behavior of Netanyahu, a logical leap must be made: abstract, as far as possible, from the humanitarian context and also examine the geopolitical aspects. And here the choices of the Tel Aviv government appear embarrassing, to the point of remembering the famous phrase of Cardinal Talleyrand in the face of the execution of the Duke of Enghien: “It is worse than a crime, it is a mistake”.

Netanyahu’s strategy

Netanyahu’s strategy not only contravenes all the proportionality criteria compared to 7 October, not only tramples the foundations of a democratic society founded on respect for human rights. It pursues a choice – the war for the war – which to many, even within Israel, appears without realistic political outlets. Relief the right to exist safely is one thing; Believing to annihilate Hamas exclusively by force, without a long -term strategy, is considered by most of the observers (as well as the leaders of almost the whole world, as mentioned in Trump aside) a unrealistic goal on a military and sterile level on the political one.

Two years of wrapping action against the leaders of the organization, with eliminated garments one after the other, weakened Hamas, but they did not decrease the end. The choice to annihilate any Palestinian presence produces, for Israel, a progressive isolation in an already complex geopolitical context, from which he had managed to get out thanks to the Abraham agreements. In a few months Netanyahu has affected Iran, Lebanon, Oman and now also Qatar, an iron ally of the USA.

The offensive on Gaza and the international clamor that follows, especially in the Gulf, have slowed down their rapprochement between Saudi and West Arabia, while Turkey is also changing attitude. Gaza and the Palestinians are becoming a symbol of the global South, while Israel attracts the hostility of the front collected from XI to Tianjin. Can Netanyahu ignore admonitions and possible EU sanctions, but will it be able to support a challenge with the whole world? When the Minister of Defense of Tel Aviv states that Gaza is a “fantastic real estate opportunity”, to whom do you think they speak?

The story, if listened to, would be a good teacher. Netanyahu seems to ignore it, as it also seems to neglect the lesson of military tactics, which recommends avoiding the direct clash in the cities: not surprisingly, the leaders of the Idf and Mossad had not recommended this path.

Forced transfer

A further critical element concerns the fate of the managers of Hamas and the refugees of the Strip. In recent days there has been talk of a possible transfer of the leaders of the organization to Tunisia, as a saving after the fall of Gaza. Hypothesis that has encountered coldness in all European chancelleries, Italy in the lead, worried about the idea of ​​hosting a new jihadist plant at the gates.

Equally worrying is the fate of the hundreds of thousands of refugees in the strip. If they ever be able to escape from hell, the memory of the Syrian wave of 2015 – with millions of refugees in Germany and the consequent migratory crisis – weighs like a boulder on European capitals. This is also a factor that could push countries so far not hostile, such as Germany and Italy, towards a much clear condemnation of Israel’s moves.