Leaders | The Middle East

Why Israel must fight on

Israel’s bombardment of Gaza is taking a terrible toll. But unless Hamas’s power is broken, peace will remain out of reach

Palestinians search for survivors following an Israeli airstrike in the Jabalia refugee camp north of Gaza City.
Image: DPA

ISRAELI FORCES are entering a hellscape of their own making. One in ten buildings in Gaza has been pulverised by Israeli aircraft and artillery. Over 8,000 Palestinians have been killed, many of them children. Shortages of fuel, clean water and food, imposed by an Israeli blockade, pose a growing threat to the lives of many thousands more.

Explore more

This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline “Why Israel must fight on”

From the November 4th 2023 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition

More from Leaders

Upside down warning signs with an exclamation mark in the shape of martini glasses

Health warnings about alcohol give only half the story

Enjoyment matters as well as risk

Marine recruits take part in a simualted combat situation in Parris Island, South Carolina

Pete Hegseth’s culture war will weaken America’s armed forces

Donald Trump’s nominee for defence risks driving away talent


The capitalist revolution Africa needs

The world’s poorest continent should embrace its least fashionable idea


Just because Indonesia has nickel, doesn’t mean it should make EVs

Economic nationalists are making a reckless bet

Donald the Deporter

Could a man who makes ugly promises of mass expulsion actually fix America’s immigration system?

Mark Zuckerberg’s U-turn on fact-checking is craven—but correct

Social-media platforms should not be in the business of defining truth