The Israeli people’s intervention may yet prove to be a turning point

Editorial: A nationwide strike after the failure to return hostages taken by Hamas sends a powerful message to the besieged prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he must stop prosecuting his unwinnable war – and instead engage with those working towards a ceasefire

Netanyahu condemned the ‘terrible, cold-blooded murder’ of six hostages (X/Benjamin Netanyahu)

Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s increasingly besieged prime minister, has been right about at least one thing: Hamas is responsible for the “terrible, cold-blooded murder” of six hostages.

In a statement, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said that after surviving 11 months, the hostages were killed right before Israeli forces reached them. Their bodies were then recovered from an underground tunnel in the Rafah area of southern Gaza, before they were laid to rest.

Their funerals have inflicted fresh trauma on many families, and serve as a reminder of the origins of this present phase of the conflict in the Middle East: the atrocities committed by Hamas on 7 October.

But the scale, disproportionate violence and the conduct of the IDF since then – attracting allegations of war crimes and genocide – cannot erase that horror.

Evidently, the latest killings have made Mr Netanyahu even more determined to continue to prosecute his merciless war, which is, by now, the longest by far in his country’s history, heading for its first anniversary, and with the most grievous loss of life – including more than 40,000 Palestinian citizens, according to the country’s health authorities.

Israelis, on the whole, support the war, even though it has failed utterly in its stated objectives – to “destroy” Hamas and bring the remaining hostages home. Virtually the entire territory of Gaza has been razed to the ground and the fighting grinds on, always threatening escalation.

Indeed, Israel is now – geopolitically and locally – in a less secure position than it was on, say, 6 October last year. Whatever else may be said for it, Mr Netanyahu has not won his war, and the resignation of opposition leader Benny Gantz from the war cabinet in June was powerful evidence of the impatience many are feeling about the situation.

Mr Netanyahu seems relatively unconcerned about this, but his more immediate problem is that the anger about the failure of his administration to conclude a hostage deal with Hamas is provoking significant unrest in Israel itself. More than half a million Israelis, hardly allies of Hamas, have come out to vent their feelings, bringing Tel Aviv to a standstill, and the Israeli trade unions initiated a general strike.

Even this remarkable political survivor must wonder about his future. Mr Netanyahu has been a seemingly permanent fixture on the regional and international scene for the last three decades, and been premier, on and off, for 17 years. But he is not invincible, and he is now faced by people desperate to rescue other hostages, before it is too late.

If Mr Netanyahu shows no interest in a ceasefire deal with Hamas, then the hostages have no more value to Hamas, and their lives fall into even deeper danger. The people of Israel realise this harsh reality, and they are reacting to the diplomatic stalemate with a great sense of urgency.

The internal pressure for a hostage deal, inevitably with a ceasefire, is becoming intense – and it may yet make the difference, at least as far as the Israeli government is concerned. Israel’s friends and allies in the West, especially the United States, are still working as hard as ever for an agreement.

The British decision to cancel a proration of its arms export licences to Israel is an indication of how frustrated they are with the way the war is dragging on. President Biden has even gone so far as to say Mr Netanyahu isn't doing enough to get a deal.

Those nations in the area that Israel has made peace with, and those who also seek peace, such as Egypt, Qatar, the UAE and Saudi Arabia, are also doing all that they can. With such goodwill, which has endured throughout these many months of killing and cruelty, Israel has the possibility of not only rescuing the hostages, but actually ending the war in Gaza, and rebuilding that network of regional peace treaties envisaged in the Abraham Accords, one of President Trump’s rare diplomatic breakthroughs.

Mr Netanyahu, who may have to face the electors sooner rather than later if the unrest creates parliamentary instability, should think carefully about snatching such an unlikely prize from the present danger.

Realistically, he may continue to be his own stubborn self, judging that “winning” the war is still possible and judging (correctly) that America will not abandon him. Also realistically, it is by no means clear that Hamas is as keen for a ceasefire and a deal as they should be, despite their notional position of political leadership.

There have been more than a dozen attempts at a peace deal of some kind, with the likes of President Biden proclaiming that an end to the fighting is in hand – but the high, last-minute failure rate suggests a degree of insincerity in one or, just as likely, both sides in this conflict.

Perversely, both Mr Netanyhu and Hamas think they have something to gain from continuing the conflict, and even in dragging in America and Iran respectively.

As too often, it is the Palestinian people of Gaza who have suffered the most, but rank lowest in the calculations of those around them. Now, the anguished voices of the people of Israel may make some difference.