A year on, Israeli society is divided about the lessons of October 7th
Hawks and doves, religious and secular, right and left—all the old cleavages are resurfacing
“WE HAVE RESTORED deterrence,” declares Amos Yadlin, a former head of Israel’s military-intelligence service, referring to the credibility Israel’s security services lost on October 7th 2023, when Palestinian radicals ran rampage across southern Israel, killing more than 1,100 people and kidnapping some 250. This has been regained by Israel’s devastating assault on Hizbullah, a Lebanese militant group that has been bombarding northern Israel for the past year, displacing some 60,000 civilians. In just two weeks Israel has killed and injured many Hizbullah operatives using booby-trapped pagers and walkie-talkies, assassinated several of its leaders in bombing raids and sent troops into southern Lebanon to destroy the tunnels, bases and rocket-launchers Hizbullah has been using in its attacks.
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This article appeared in the Briefing section of the print edition under the headline “No common purpose”
From the October 5th 2024 edition
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Who will control the next Congress?
The new president is much less likely than usual to see allies take charge on Capitol Hill
Has the war in Gaza radicalised young Palestinians?
After Gaza, how will the Palestinians try to build their state?
The bloodshed in the Middle East is fast expanding
Israel seems certain to retaliate to Iran’s missile attack
What Hamas misunderstood about the Middle East
A war meant to draw in the militant group’s allies has instead left them battered
After the decapitation of Hizbullah, Iran could race for a nuclear bomb
The embattled clerical regime might feel the need for stronger deterrence
Ukraine is on the defensive, militarily, economically and diplomatically
Russian advances, fatigue among its allies and political divisions at home leave it in a bind