How to Avert a New War in Gaza
The dire economic situation and Hamas’s mismanagement are driving Gazans to the brink.
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Tensions between Israel and Hamas reignited this spring in the worst fighting since their 2014 war, sparking fears that another full-scale conflict could break out this summer. Certainly the incentives for escalation continue. There have been Gazan injuries during the riots along Israel-Gaza border; the murder of an Israeli student in the West Bank last week, decried as a terrorist event, is another.
Up to now, both sides have repeatedly used diplomatic back channels to restore calm, at least temporarily. This pattern cannot hold endlessly. Gaza needs long-term strategic changes to address the underlying instability.