Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, a hardline, right-wing Israeli politician himself, is certainly no dove. His infamous statement a day after the Hamas attack on nearby Israeli settlements on 7 October, vowing not to allow any water, food or fuel into Gaza, tops South Africa’s case accusing Israel of genocide in front of the International Court of Justice.

Along with Netanyahu, they were both issued an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for involvement in war crimes and crimes against humanity during the conduct of the war against Palestinian civilians in Gaza. There is little doubt that extreme US and European pressure on the Hague-based ICC has been a key factor in delaying the court’s decision in the prosecutor’s request to arrest both Netanyahu and Gallant.

Yet, even Gallant could not deny the writing on the wall which has been there for the world to see for months: Israel’s Netanyahu wants an endless war, in which the reoccupation of Gaza would be a side story. Instead, his reckless strategy is to push the entire region towards a widescale war with the illusion that this would be the only way to deal a deadly blow to Israel’s arch foe Iran and its allies.

Besides Netanyahu’s determined strategy to let fail all previous rounds of negotiations mediated by Egypt, Qatar, and the United States, to reach a ceasefire and hostage exchange deal in Gaza, he spared no effort to escalate tension with other countries in the region. By killing a senior Hizbullah military commander in Beirut on 30 July, followed a few hours later by the criminal assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, the Israeli premier was certainly seeking to provoke an endless round of retaliatory attacks that would make the war in Gaza and effort to reach a ceasefire a secondary issue.

Meanwhile, and despite Egypt’s key role since the beginning of the war as mediator and primary partner in world efforts to alleviate the suffering of over 2.4 million in Gaza by providing much needed humanitarian aid, the Israeli prime minister and his extremist cabinet minister went ahead with the decision to take over the border city of Rafah along the border with Egypt.

Besides leaking consistently false reports on alleged tunnels along the border between Egypt and Gaza, Netanyahu has also placed a stumbling block in front of the success of ongoing ceasefire negotiations by insisting on maintaining an Israeli military presence on the border with the occupied Strip.

With the entire region remaining in a state of alert awaiting an expected Iranian retaliation for the flagrant violation of its sovereignty by assassinating Haniyeh in Tehran, as well as similar retaliation by Hizbullah and the Houthis in Yemen, there is little expectation that the upcoming round of negotiations, due to start today, 15 August, in either Cairo or Doha, to reach a ceasefire deal in Gaza is likely to produce a different outcome from previous fruitless rounds.

Amid the current state of heightened tension and uncertainty, Egypt, along with Qatar and the United States, issued a significant joint statement on Friday calling upon the Israeli government and Hamas to resume ceasefire talks to close all remaining gaps and commence implementation of the deal without further delay.  

In a direct warning, the statement stressed that “there is no further time to waste nor excuses from any party for further delay. It is time to release the hostages, begin the ceasefire, and implement this agreement.”

The tripartite statement even offered that “as mediators, if necessary, we are prepared to present a final bridging proposal that resolves the remaining implementation of issues in a manner that meets the expectations of all parties.”

Instead of heeding this straightforward appeal, and recognising the fact that reaching a ceasefire deal in Gaza would be only the starting point in calming down all other volatile fronts, including Iran, Lebanon and Yemen, the Israeli army committed yet another bloody massacre in Gaza City one day later.

While displaced civilians seeking shelter at the Al-Tab’een school in Gaza City had just started their dawn prayers early Saturday, alleged US-made smart bombs were dropped on their heads from Israeli fighter jets, killing more than 100 more people, mostly, like every day, women and children.

Killing the top political negotiator on behalf of Hamas, as well as continuous daily, indiscriminate bombing of schools and so-called “safe zones” sheltering thousands of displaced Palestinians, certainly provide no indication whatsoever that the current extremist Israeli government led by Netanyahu is serious about a desire to reach a deal to end the war in Gaza and restore relative stability in the entire region.

While Netanyahu can utter as much “nonsense” as he pleases about his illusion to achieve “absolute victory,” Israel’s key ally and partner, the United States, can definitely do much more than rushing endless supplies of weapons to defend its closest ally in the region.   

While Netanyahu is clearly hedging his bets on dragging the war until the upcoming US presidential elections in early November, and deciding his next moves depending on the outcome, the region cannot withstand the consequences of such reckless gambling, nor the daily massacres in which Palestinian blood is being shed daily with no accountability or concern from the world watching on helplessly.

* A version of this article appears in print in the 15 August, 2024 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly