Israel's war with Iran lasted just 12 days. So why has the fight with Hamas in Gaza lasted for over 600?

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's triumph thigh implicit Iran turned retired to beryllium painfully abbreviated lived.   

Just hours aft announcing a ceasefire Tuesday and proclaiming that "every subject successful the world" would survey Israel's successes successful the attacks helium authorized, determination was connection of dense losses successful Israel's different warfare — against Hamas successful Gaza.

Seven Israel Defence Forces (IDF) soldiers were killed erstwhile their armoured unit bearer was attacked adjacent Khan Younis. In all, 30 Israelis have been killed successful Gaza since the IDF broke its ceasefire with Hamas in March. 

Overall, the IDF says 879 of its soldiers person been killed since Hamas attacked Israel connected Oct. 7, 2023, a full that includes deaths warring against Hezbollah successful Lebanon.

Whereas the warfare with Iran lasted hardly 12 days, Israel has been warring successful Gaza for much than 600, in spite of Hamas being a overmuch smaller adversary. However, the longer the warfare drags on, the much unit Netanyahu faces — some wrong and extracurricular Israel — to scope a woody and bring the remaining hostages home. 

Iran's effectual decision whitethorn power Hamas

Some observers successful Israel judge the effectual decision of Iran, Hamas's large benefactor, could unit the Palestinian militant group to reassess its quality to clasp retired successful Gaza.

"It whitethorn wide the mode for a deal, because Hamas looks astir and sees their Iranian sponsors person been taken out," said Dan Diker with the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs.

Diker's centre engages successful nationalist diplomacy and lobbies connected behalf of Israel crossed the Middle East. It's connected the grounds arsenic opposing a two-state solution to the much than 70-year conflict.

Like galore Israelis, Diker says he believes the Gaza Health Ministry figures of 56,000 dormant successful Gaza are inflated, and that the fig of radical going bare determination is besides overstated. (The United Nations considers the decease toll reliable and different estimates enactment it adjacent higher.)

Diker says helium tin spot a script wherever Hamas's remaining leaders successful Gaza hold to unrecorded successful exile, due to the fact that governmental and subject assistance from Iran is nary longer available. 

Israel and the U.S. claim that Iran trained, funded and equipped galore of the Hamas militants progressive successful the Oct. 7 attacks that killed immoderate 1,200 people.

A breakthrough?

Heading into the NATO acme successful The Hague connected Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump raised hopes of a breakthrough successful negotiations.

But later, Qatari officials progressive successful mediation said they had received nary caller offers from either side.

In precocious May, Hamas reportedly rejected an offer enactment guardant by U.S. emissary Steve Witkoff. It would person seen the gradual merchandise of hostages on with the IDF pulling back from galore parts of Gaza. It besides would have frozen the war for 60 days.   

Hamas has been accordant successful its demands for a imperishable extremity to the fighting. While the radical denied rejecting the connection outright, it did stipulate unspecified changes that Witkoff called unacceptable.

Qatari negotiators person reportedly been holding indirect talks with some Israel and Hamas to spot what, if anything, has changed successful their position.

Discouragement successful Gaza

In Gaza, where astir radical present unrecorded successful tents and conscionable uncovering capable nutrient has go a regular struggle, most of those who spoke to CBC News videographer Mohamed El Saife said they had lived done excessively galore failed ceasefire efforts to person overmuch hope. 

"We are near down and nary 1 is paying attraction to us," said 29-year-old Bakr Awda.

"The negotiations are for nothing, they travel and spell and they don't adhd anything," said 24-year-old Abdul Hafez Saleh.

However, President Mahmoud Abbas, the caput of the Palestinian Authority, said helium believes determination is simply a model to marque a woody successful Gaza if Trump personally intervenes, as helium did with the Iran-Israel ceasefire.

Internal unit for Netanyahu

Netanyahu is facing unit from wrong and extracurricular the state to bring the warfare successful Gaza to a long-overdue conclusion.

Among those who person pushed hardest are the household members of immoderate of those held by Hamas.

As galore arsenic 25 hostages are believed to beryllium live successful Gaza. Within hours of the Iran ceasefire, galore of their household members were urging Israel's premier minister to widen it to Gaza.

"To reason this decisive cognition against Iran without leveraging our occurrence to bring location each the hostages would beryllium a sedate failure," said a radical of the hostages' families. 

Critics connected Israel's near impeach Netanyahu of keeping the warfare going to guarantee the enactment of far-right groups successful the Knesset, truthful helium doesn't suffer his bulk and look an election. Netanyahu is besides presently connected trial facing 3 corruption-related charges.

His authorities has antecedently said the premier directives are inactive to escaped the hostages, destruct Hamas and guarantee militants successful Gaza nary longer airs a threat. But it has ne'er spelled retired precisely erstwhile those conditions would beryllium considered met.

External pressure

Some of Israel's accepted allies successful the West, including Canada, are besides applying unit to extremity the war. 

Several governments, including Canada's, have condemned Israel's actions successful Gaza — including cutting disconnected astir nutrient and assistance deliveries for astir 3 months — saying the denial of specified humanitarian assistance is simply a breach of planetary law.

Notably, Palestinian suffering successful Gaza is seldom discussed connected Israeli tv oregon by authorities officials.

Indeed, Israel's authorities has accused the United Nations, planetary assistance agencies and galore backstage humanitarian groups of antisemitism for contradicting its narrative over however the warfare is being fought.

Unlike with Iran, where astir Israelis were afloat supportive of the attacks, the longer the warfare successful Gaza continues, the much polarizing it appears to get with the Israeli public.

At the aforesaid time, members of Israel's government, which includes influential members of far-right parties, openly and regularly suggest that destroying buildings successful Gaza and herding radical into tiny parcels of onshore could beryllium the archetypal measurement successful the wide displacement of Palestinians to pave the mode for caller Jewish settlements — tantamount to taste cleansing. 

War objectives

On Israel's Channel 12, a Tuesday greeting sheet criticized what it viewed arsenic Israel's deficiency of wide warfare goals.

"I deliberation that implicit the past 12 days, we whitethorn person been blinded by the sparkle of triumph — truthful overmuch truthful that our pupils shrank, and we stopped seeing that down it all, determination are inactive 50 hostages," said Gilad Shalmor, 1 of the channel's apical correspondents, who included successful his number hostages already believed to beryllium dead. 

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Some Israeli commentators judge Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving premier minister, whitethorn privation to leverage the occurrence of the run against Iran and telephone an aboriginal predetermination — but that could beryllium hard for him to triumph with hostages inactive successful captivity, truthful a compromise implicit Gaza whitethorn beryllium necessary.

"I don't judge determination volition beryllium elections earlier the solution of the Gaza hostage concern and the Hamas situation," said Diker.