Israel Beaten Back

The only way a ceasefire in Gaza could last would have been if Hamas was thrashed. If Hamas had been damaged so much that they could not claim victory, there might be a lasting cessation of hostilities. If Hamas terrorists were waving white flags at the IDF juggernaut in hopes of surviving, there might be peace. The situation that prevails instead is that Hamas is still standing with fighting ability intact. Hamas has not lost its capability to go on the offensive. In fact, in the last hours before fire ceased (to whatever extent and however long Hamas deems fit), a mortar barrage killed two Israeli civilians in as bad a single event for Jewish civilians as any in the fifty day war. Hamas has the initiative with Israel almost universally vilified for Palestinian civilian "carnage" while Hamas which in fact caused that suffering, was able to survive and paint Israel as guilty of war crimes. As sad as it is to say, Israel lost the Gaza conflict and the Netanyahu government should be brought down by a vote of "no confidence".