At the start of the second month of the Gaza war, two questions emerge: what kind of conflict are we witnessing and how long will it last? These questions force us to consider longer trends in modern warfare, linked not just to the post-9/11 “wars on terror” but to a more global security paradigm that is about maintaining control, rather than addressing the underlying causes of revolt.
In the immediate aftermath of Hamas’s 7 October assault, Benjamin Netanyahu talked of crushing the organisation so that it could never again threaten Israel. It was eerily similar to George W Bush’s declaration against al-Qaida and the Taliban after 9/11, which had dire consequences, especially for Afghanistan and Iraq.
