As the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza enters its first month, time has become an important factor in the battle waged by the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against the Palestinian movement and other armed groups in the Strip.

With the armed groups holding hostages they kidnapped, most of whom are in the hands of Hamas (classified as a terrorist organization in the United States), and the prolonged Israeli military operation, the political pressure on Netanyahu is increasing, which was evident last night, when thousands of anti-him demonstrators came out in Tel Aviv, Demanding the speedy return of the kidnapped persons.

The demonstrators also raised banners with slogans such as "Release the hostages now at any cost." Hamas has so far released 4 women, out of about 241 kidnapped.

On October 7, Hamas launched an attack on Israel, launching thousands of rockets and infiltrating towns and areas around the Gaza Strip, killing more than 1,400 people, most of them civilians, including women and children.

Israel responded to the attack with intense bombing of Gaza and a ground incursion, causing the death of 9,770 Palestinians, the majority of whom were civilians, including women and children, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza.

As the humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip deteriorated, with Israel blocking fuel, water, and electricity, calls increased for a humanitarian truce or ceasefire, in order to protect civilians and bring in humanitarian aid.

But Israel rejected such calls, and Netanyahu said he would not allow any truce "until all the hostages are released."

Both sides are "ready" for a long war

Israel has long asserted that the battle in the Gaza Strip will be long in order to defeat the Hamas and Islamic Jihad movements, and this has also been confirmed by the Palestinian armed groups, through continuous statements, indicating that they are “ready for a long battle and to confront the Israeli ground incursion.”

Visiting professor at the Royal Military Academy in Brussels, Sayed Ghoneim, said in statements to Al-Hurra website that the long-term war of the current military operation in the Gaza Strip “is not in the interest of Israel or the Hamas movement.”

Regarding this matter, Reuters quoted the former Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, as saying that Israel “prepared for a long and painful war.”

Hamas is holding 229 hostages, including Israelis, dual nationals, and foreigners

The agency also indicated, citing two sources close to Hamas, that the movement “has been stockpiling weapons, missiles, food, and medical supplies, in preparation for a long and protracted war in Gaza.”

They explained, "The movement is confident that thousands of its militants can survive for months in a city of tunnels dug deep into the Palestinian Strip."

The Israeli economic newspaper "Calcalist" reported on Sunday, citing preliminary figures from the Ministry of Finance, that the "cost" of the war that Israel is waging against Hamas in the Gaza Strip will amount to "up to 200 billion shekels ($51 billion)."

The newspaper said that the estimate of the costs, which is equivalent to 10 percent of the gross domestic product, is based on “the possibility of the war continuing from 8 to 12 months, with the matter limited to Gaza without the full participation of Lebanese Hezbollah, Iran, or the Houthis in Yemen, as well as on the basis of the rapid return of about 350,000 Israelis have been conscripted into the reserve forces and will begin work soon.”

Battle against time

At a time when Netanyahu is facing internal pressure due to the hostage situation, Ghoneim continued his speech to Al-Hurra by saying that “prolonging the military operation with the cumulative killing of hostages in Gaza is against Netanyahu and his government and against Israel as a whole.”

He considered that the reason for this was due to "the severe impact of the killing of Israeli kidnappers and hostages on their families at home, especially with the presence of those with foreign nationalities among them."

For his part, Meir Masri, professor of political science at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, said in statements to Al-Hurra, “The release of the hostages is an important and fundamental goal for Israel, its government and its people, but the strategic goal is to overthrow Hamas’ rule in Gaza and eliminate terrorism.”

Two sources close to the Palestinian Hamas revealed on Saturday that the movement is preparing for a long and protracted war in the Gaza Strip.

He continued his speech by saying: “Anyone who thinks that Israel can stop military operations before reoccupying the Gaza Strip and eliminating the Hamas and Islamic Jihad movements is mistaken, whatever the cost.”

On Saturday, Hamas announced that “more than 60” of the hostages it kidnapped and transported to the Gaza Strip were “killed due to Israeli raids,” noting that “search operations are still ongoing for the bodies of 23 of them,” according to Reuters.

The Palestinian movement added that "some of the bodies of the hostages were lost under the rubble," saying: "It seems that we will never be able to reach them," attributing this to the continued Israeli strikes.

The Israeli army declined to comment to Reuters about the announcement. The Al-Hurra website was unable to verify Hamas’ statements through an independent source.

On the other hand, Ghoneim considered that “Netanyahu can turn the prolongation of the military operation in Gaza to his advantage, if he reduces the number of losses among his forces,” adding that the matter is “almost impossible.”

He continued: "Losing many soldiers will make him (Netanyahu) lose his military standing, in addition to the fact that with the deaths of the hostages, he will lose severely politically."

So far, Israel has announced the killing of 24 of its soldiers since the start of the military operation in the Gaza Strip.

The war has killed thousands since it broke out on October 7

In numbers...a report reveals the "initial bill" that Israel pays in the war

The Israeli economic newspaper Calcalist reported on Sunday, citing preliminary figures from the Ministry of Finance, that the cost of the war that Israel is waging against Hamas in the Gaza Strip will reach up to 200 billion shekels ($51 billion).

Regarding Hamas, Ghoneim believed that “logically, it is not in its interest to prolong the period of the military operation in Gaza, but it has prepared itself for a long operation and accepts being under siege for a long period.”

He continued: "Therefore, the impact of the length of the battle will be relatively less on the Palestinian factions participating in the war."

But Masri saw the opposite, as he said: “Israel is not besieged. Hamas’s siege has stifled its cadres, who have become isolated from the world inside the tunnels, and tightening the grip on some strategic sites inside the Strip before final control (by the Israeli army) requires some time.”

He continued: "Prolonging military operations is in Israel's interest. The war against terrorism is not won by a knockout. We need several months to finish the task of cleaning the Gaza Strip."

Reuters had also quoted Hamas as saying, on Saturday, that “international pressure on Israel to end the siege, with increasing civilian casualties, could impose a ceasefire and reach a negotiated settlement, which would enable the armed group to emerge with a tangible concession (from Israel).” ".