Vantage | What’s next after six days of Israel-Hamas war?

It’s been six days of the Israel-Hamas war. The death toll continues to rise – in Israel because more bodies are being recovered from sites that came under attack last week, and in Gaza because it is coming under waves of aerial strikes by Israeli forces. So, more than 1,300 dead in Israel and over 1,400, in Gaza. The skies over Gaza are filled with smoke. This is a small enclave 41 km long, 12 km wide at its widest point and it has seen non-stop bombardment over the last few days. What about Israel? It is much better fortified but still on the edge. Rockets are streaking across the sky every once in a while, the Iron Dome is intercepting them. This is an evolving situation, updates are coming in every minute, there is unpredictability and that is what makes a war dangerous – you don’t know what’s coming the next moment. Here are the top five updates of the sixth day: A war cabinet The first one is from Israel. They now have a unity government, which has both the ruling party and the opposition. It’s essentially a wartime cabinet. This government has three main members - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, opposition leader Benny Gantz and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant. One key name is missing, opposition leader Yair Lapid. He has not joined it yet but there’s a seat reserved for him. And what’s the purpose of this wartime government? To fight the war, to reduce the response time and to defeat Hamas. “Every Hamas member is a dead man,” says Netanyahu. The opposition in Israel echoes them. “It is the time for war,” says Benny Gantz. A ground offensive in the making So, their goal and intent is clear, but what is their plan? That brings us to update number two - a ground offensive. It is happening. Israel is preparing on war footing, tens of thousands of troops have already been deployed near the border. They are stationed a stone’s throw away from Gaza. We were in the border towns earlier this week and saw tanks rolling and the buildup in progress. There is heavy armoury — tanks, troops – everything you need for a ground offensive. It seems they’re only waiting for a political decision for a go-ahead from the leadership. Skies are still on fire Until then, the aerial bombardment continues. That’s update number three. Israel says every strike they carry out is led by intelligence. That’s not saying much, considering they had a colossal intelligence failure just a few days back, but the point they’re making is this —they’re targeting Hamas and civilians are collateral damage.  Hamas on the other hand, went after civilians as their primary targets. There’s a big difference in the two, and Israel wants to underline it. Having said that, their strikes have destroyed entire neighbourhoods in Gaza. Many parts of the strip have been reduced to rubble. The biggest target for Tel Aviv right now is the tunnel network. To understand what this is, you must know the layout of Gaza. It is blockaded from most sides, caught between Israel and the deep blue sea. So, Hamas has built tunnels underground, a very complicated labyrinth of tunnels. They use they use these tunnels for everything from travelling, transporting food and fuel to even weapons. Israel says Hamas uses this tunnel network for its terror operations. So they are now targeting the tunnels with weapons called bunker busters. These bombs burrow themselves deep into the ground and then detonate. So they can destroy infrastructure like tunnels. The politics Long story short, the war is escalating and so is the politics. That’s our update number four - the developments behind the scenes. Different players are trying to broker a ceasefire. West Asian nations are pushing for talks - the likes of Qatar, Egypt, Turkiye are talking to Hamas asking for the release of hostages. Here’s what they propose - release Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners - basically a prisoner swap. But it may not happen immediately. Neither Israel, nor Hamas seem interested in making any concessions so there’s little scope for diplomacy and little hope of restraint. What’s next? That brings us to update no five. What’s coming next? How long will this war go on and how will it affect the rest of the world? Honestly, it’s hard to say. Too many players, too many variables and inflamed passions. It’s never a good mix and the cost will be high - both human and financial. The immediate impact for the world is in terms of connectivity. There have been multiple flight disruptions and cancellations. Airlines are simply not taking the risk. About one third of flights to and from Israel have been cancelled and more could follow in the coming days. Global markets are tracking the developments closely. Right after the war broke out, oil prices shot up by 4 per cent, they’ve cooled since. That’s largely because of a pledge from Saudi Arabia, the world’s second largest oil producer. Saudi Arabia has promised to stabilise the oil market, meaning, they’ll increase the output to steady supplies. So that’s some positive news, but it holds only if the conflict doesn’t spill over. Even though Israel is not a major producer or supplier of oil, it is located in a region that is central to the global oil economy and right now, West Asia is a powder keg. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views. Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.