Ivo Daalder, former US ambassador to NATO and executive director of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, sharply criticizes Israel’s strategy in an op-ed published today in Politico, suggesting it threatens “an even bigger disaster.”

He says this week’s explosion at Al-Ahli Hospital, which is feared to have killed hundreds of Palestinians, shows that “concern about the humanitarian disaster in Gaza has now superseded general anger and grief” over the first Hamas attacks and that “anger at Arab streets made the prospect of escalation more likely.”

“Meanwhile, the flaws in Israel’s strategy in response to Hamas’ brutality are becoming increasingly difficult to ignore,” he said.

“All of this speaks to the need for a new strategy in the Middle East — one that addresses some of the deeper problems that have been exposed by this month’s devastating events, while at the same time preventing new threats to Israel’s security,” the statement said. Ivo Daalder

Referring to US President Joe Biden’s veiled warnings to Israel during his visit this week, Daalder writes: “Biden didn’t want to tell Israel what to do. But his statement raises growing doubts about his government’s course – and rightly so.”

The main problem facing Israel is that the strategy it has devised in response to the shocking brutality of the massacre of more than 1,300 of its citizens is unlikely to work.

“How can Israel defeat Hamas without also causing massive and unacceptable civilian casualties? And even if he can, who will rule Gaza after that? These questions are urgent but remain unanswered,” says Daalder.

They will not be able to crush Hamas

The former ambassador warns that it is unclear whether the massive bombing campaign – Israel’s largest ever against Gaza – will actually defeat Hamas, many of whose leaders are not in Gaza.

The long-awaited ground offensive is also unlikely to succeed unless the territory is completely depopulated – something no one in Israel is proposing to do.

He says it is time to “address the deep issues highlighted by this devastating conflict”, before urging leaders to make resolving the Palestinian issue a priority, saying this can only happen through a two-state solution.

“Whatever the details, now is the time for a fundamental course correction — before an even bigger disaster strikes,” he concluded for Politico.