Sean Bell: Hamas is being used as a pawn – as a dark shadow hints at where the true evil resides
The audacious attack by Hamas fighters into Israeli territory on Saturday last week precipitated a new wave of violence between two old adversaries.
Hamas does not have the military power to defeat Israel, so this latest violent episode will have no victors, simply a growing number of victims.
Why did Hamas attack Israel, and what are they seeking to achieve from this violence?
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Although Hamas has considerable weapons, resources and fighters at its disposal, it is no match militarily for Israel. Where Hamas has rockets, guns and grenades, so Israel has ships, tanks and fighter jets.
Yet, that did not deter Hamas from launching a well-planned attack on Israel last Saturday.
Hamas fighters flew paragliders from Gaza, used bulldozers to poke gaping holes in a barrier fence to gain access to Israeli territory, and killed more than 1,000 people and seized at least 100 hostages.
And, despite the US spending over $1bn supporting Israel’s Iron Dome air defence capability, Hamas was able to completely overwhelm the system.
The Iron Dome system was overwhelmed by the mass of rockets from Gaza
Each Iron Dome has three or four launchers, each capable of firing up to 20 missiles – a total of 80 missiles – but that proved powerless to combat the thousands of unguided missiles launched in the attack.
Regardless, despite the initial “successes”, Hamas would have known its attack would be repelled, and that – having provoked the Israeli bear – the repercussions would be swift and brutal.
Hamas must also have known that neighbouring Arab states would not get involved, and even if Hezbollah had joined in, that would not have been decisive.
Putting aside what motivated the barbaric attack, from a military perspective it was destined to fail, and at dreadful cost.
So who benefits most from provoking an Israeli military response? It is not either of the warring factions – both sides have suffered, and a new generation will bear the scars and grievances for decades.
Despite a turbulent gestation, neighbouring Arab states have softened their stance on Israel over the decades and have moved to normalise relations. Jordan recognised its border with Israel in 1982, as did Egypt in 1994, and with US support, Saudi Arabia was in advanced stages of normalising relations with Israel.
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Israel offensive ‘fraught with danger’
But none of this suited Iran. As a Muslim country with deteriorating relations with the West, Iran was feeling increasingly marginalised.
Although there is no hard proof of Iran’s direct involvement in the Hamas attack, Iran provides over 70% of funding for Hamas (and Hezbollah), and most of their rockets and weapons, and was the only nation to congratulate Hamas for its devastating attack.
Read more:
Explainer: A century of war, heartbreak and hope for peace
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The tragedy is that Hamas is almost certainly being used as a pawn in a grand strategic game of chess, resulting in death, suffering and fuelling generational hatred – for both Palestinians and Israelis.
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In conventional conflicts it is the military who wage war, yet Hamas has used hatred and non-military fighters to deliberately target defenceless women, children and families.
And, the elusive Hamas leadership appear likely to be directing operations from the security (and luxury) of overseas retreats.
The brutal Hamas invasion of Israel has triggered another cycle of violence in which there can be no winners, only a lengthening list of death and destruction. Hamas is responsible for the barbaric acts that have shocked the civilised world, but the dark shadow of Iran hints at where the true evil resides.
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