Israel is using the ceasefire in Gaza to cement its grip on the territory

A building destroyed in an Israeli airstrike on Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip, on May 26, 2026. ABDEL KAREEM HANA/AP S tanding before a group of Israeli army widows and orphans gathered in Jerusalem at the end of April, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised Israel's "chain of heroes" as he spoke to the children about their fathers, who died in combat. "It is not in vain, it is not in vain," he said, needing to repeat the statement when speaking to the children, who were just some of the 890 new orphans Israel has registered since October 7, 2023. After two years of open war in Gaza, followed by nearly eight months of a ceasefire that is violated daily, some in Israel are questioning the strategy at work in the enclave. It has yet to get answers. The government and the army are touting the regular blows they are dealing Hamas. Every time they eliminate one of the Palestinian Islamist movement's senior figures they present it as a major victory. Izz al-Din al-Haddad, the leader of Hamas's armed wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, was killed on May 15. His successor, Mohammed Odeh, was also killed in an airstrike, on May 26. Two "central Hamas terrorists" were also targeted in the north of the enclave on Wednesday evening, according to the Israeli army. "We will continue to pursue anyone who took part in the October 7 massacre. Sooner or later, Israel will reach them all," said Netanyahu, together with Defense Minister Israel Katz. You have 81.1% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.