Expectations that Israel will exercise very strong force against Gaza and launch a ground invasion, and that this will be followed by international condemnation, amid doubts regarding the “military achievements” that it will achieve and the extent of its influence on Hezbollah* “Gantz’s joining the government will not affect politics.”

Today, Wednesday, Israeli newspapers considered that Israel is facing a "trap" into which it has entered. The newspaper "Haaretz" indicated that Israel received a severe blow, with the widespread and sudden attack launched by the Hamas movement, last Saturday, and that it will take time until it comes out of its influence, and that the Hamas attack "changed for the worse, without a doubt, the balance of deterrence and regional stability."

On the other hand, according to the newspaper, the Israeli military response to the Hamas attack will include an unprecedented exercise of force in a civilian environment, and that “it is expected that difficulties will follow later in the international arena,” referring to international criticism and condemnation against Israel following widespread targeting of civilians in Gaza strip.

The newspaper added that, on the third hand, “it is not clear the size and duration of force that Israel should use, in order to defeat Hamas and deter Hezbollah for a long period.”

The newspaper pointed out, "Actually, Israel has not decided what the goal of the military operation is, and what it is trying to achieve: taking away military capabilities, or overthrowing the government in the Gaza Strip as well? The second goal apparently requires occupying the Gaza Strip. This was not the direction of military plans in the past."

The newspaper reported that there was a disagreement between the leaders of the Israeli intelligence services over the claim that a very severe military operation against Gaza would deter Hezbollah from joining the current war. She added that the question is whether a broad and continuous Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip “will lead to victory or involvement, and whether Hezbollah will exploit the preoccupation of the Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip in order to open a basic and more difficult front in the north.”

According to Maariv newspaper, the nature of the Israeli air attacks, in which 50-60 warplanes participate in each attack, is a prelude to a ground invasion, if it is decided to implement it.

She added that the destruction in the Gaza Strip will be enormous, as will the number of martyrs on the rise. “But the test of the Israeli army will be the military achievements it will achieve that will cause real damage to Hamas’ capabilities.”

The newspaper continued, "The challenge before the political level will be to describe the goal of the war and the achievements required for the army, so that it will be clear at the end of the war that the statement directed to Hamas that the situation will not remain as it was, will be of military and political importance in the future."

According to the newspaper, “Israel must end this war while Hamas is unable to manage governance or military capabilities,” and that the question of who will rule after Hamas “is no longer relevant to reality.”

The internal Israeli political arena

Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper believed that it would be better for the head of the “National Camp” bloc, Benny Gantz, and the Knesset member for this bloc, Gadi Eisenkot, both of whom are former chiefs of staff of the Israeli army, to remain outside Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. The Likud Party announced yesterday, following the meeting of coalition party leaders, that it had been unanimously approved to form a "national emergency government."

The newspaper pointed out that Gantz's failure to join is not due to grudges against Netanyahu and his government, nor because of the rivalry between Gantz, Eisenkot, and the Defense Minister, Yoav Galant, since they opposed his appointment as army chief of staff at the beginning of the last decade.

The newspaper considered that Gantz and Eisenkot joining an emergency government would contribute to the Israelis’ confidence in the government, “but this will not change the policy nor the situation on the ground” of the war.

She added that it is not a coincidence that Netanyahu mentioned Menachem Begin’s joining the Labor government before the June 1967 war. “Begin joined the government as a morale officer. He did not contribute anything important to the mini-government’s security decisions during that war. This is the model that Netanyahu proposes.” On Gantz, he will be nothing more than the head of the decoration committee.”

The newspaper continued, "It is not easy to manage a war when there is no trust among the members of the mini-security government, and all of them do not believe a single word issued by Netanyahu."

The newspaper considered that “only a miracle will allow the government to remain in its mandate after the horrific failure last Saturday, and the expected challenges. Gantz and Eisenkot will be involved in managing the military steps, but the damage will befall the state on another front, which is the state’s interest. If this government falls, voters will be lost.” Gantz trusts him too."