How They Fight

Cross posted at Scoop44 and Daily Kos.

The war between Hamas, a radical Islamist group based in Gaza, and Israel continued for several weeks. Many civilians, both Israeli and Palestinian, were killed. The exact death toll remains unknown, but we know it was at least 1,200 with 5,400 wounded at the time the parties declared their own ceasefires on January 17.

There were many things about the war in Gaza that seemed eerily familiar. Back in 2006, Israel reacted in a similar way when Hezbollah, the radical Islamist group in Lebanon, captured soldiers stationed in Gaza. Rockets flew for weeks. Israel launched a massive one month assault into Beirut, killing thousands of Lebanese civilians in the process. But many Middle East experts argue that while Israel's reaction might have been warranted, it was also a huge failure.

Israel's goal in the war was to destroy Hezbollah. After the war, Hezbollah was stronger and more popular than it had been before. It maintained its political hold in Lebanon, and became particularly problematic for Israel in the conflict in Gaza. There were numerous attacks launched against Israel from Lebanon, and Israel openly worried that Hamas might convince Hezbollah to open up a two front war against Israel.

The ramifications of the latest conflict in Gaza remain unknown. There have already been op-ed pieces suggesting that Israel has been mishandling Islamist groups in the Middle East for some time and will continue to do so in the future. Only time will tell.