From the very beginning of the war in the Gaza Strip that started with Hamas’s killing spree on October 7, 2023, there has been a deep and abiding disconnect between the United States and Israel. Both U.S. Presidents Joe Biden and Donald Trump have sought to paper over these differences with rhetoric vowing to support Israeli efforts to destroy Hamas, but throughout the last twenty-two months of bloodshed and suffering, the United States and Israel have sought different outcomes. Put plainly, the Israeli government is seeking victory while both Biden and Trump have pushed ceasefire deals. Israel’s belief that it can rely on its military power alone to improve the country’s security and, in turn, transform the Middle East is mistaken, however. There is a real risk of Israeli overreach that will undermine, or at least diminish, the gains that the Israel Defense Force (IDF) has made in almost two years of war. Indeed, the current mess over the provision of humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in Gaza is a direct result of Israel’s post-October 7 desire to resolve its security problems rather than manage them.
Israel Risks Overplaying Its Hand in Gaza and the Middle East | Council on Foreign Relations
