After more than two weeks of the Gaza ceasefire, occasional flare-ups, another Israel soldier killed, and more than 100 Palestinians dead overnight – almost half of them children – peace deal ‘holds’
This is what a shaky Gaza ceasefire looks like – more than 100 Palestinians killed overnight in response to an Israeli soldier being killed within the Strip.
Hamas is more than capable of provoking an overwhelming and shocking Israeli response to the shooting of Chief Sgt Yona Efraim Feldbaum, a father-of-five.
The militant group is running out of bargaining power and leverage, having released the remaining 20 hostages back to Israel. And although it denies being involved in the sniper shooting, it also stands accused of slipping remains of a hostage previously released into the body-release agreement.
Hamas would love to strike a schism between Israel and its US supporter, forcing US President Trump to reign in the IDF after such a devastating series of strikes. But if that was its plan it has backfired as Sgt Feldbaum holds dual Israel- US citizenship.
This may be why Trump has defended Israel’s strikes in a resounding result for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who ordered the massive airstrikes.
Netanyahu has now established that he can kill more than 100 Palestinians in response to alleged ceasefire violations and then say the ceasefire is back on.
His gamble now gives him ultimate control over the Gaza so-called peace and the ability to unleash death and destruction at the first sign of Hamas breaking the agreement.
Brutal and ruthless though it is Netanyahu has played Hamas like a military chess master. If Hamas was behind the shooting of the soldier that sparked the overnight horror, their ruse has backfired and America did not bite by coming down heavily on Isreal.
In this part of the Middle East this is what a ceasefire looks like, not all-out war but enough to kill more than 100 but not enough, according to Netanyahu to end the ceasefire. Israel yet again reserves the right to deploy immense violence in response to a flare-up within Gaza.
And yet again so many Palestinian civilians have paid the ultimate price and no doubt will continue to do so. The question has to remain – how big an Israeli response does actually end the continuation of the ceasefire?
What, US President Donald Trump’s view. constitutes a disproportionate reaction? This is a tough one for America and in the coming weeks and months Hamas is likely to test the durability of the ceasefire to the limit by prodding Israel. And Israel’s response will test it further.