Ok, this is the situation, seen from a strategic point of view.
Let me give an illustration from my own hometown Aalborg, that really sheds light on the current situation in Gaza.
This is not a “choosing sides” post, but an attempt at understanding the pros and cons of the current situation.
500 years ago, we had a huge uprising in Denmark. It was a part of the 100 years struggle, where protestantism and catholicism clashed.
We had a king that supported the protestant faction, and a king that supported the catholic faction.
The “bad guy” of the time was a bishop called “Stygge krumpen”, or something like “evil wretched”.
The faction of the protestants were the ill equipped, and basically consisting of farmers with their scythes.
At the other hand, it was a professional army of knights from one of the German fiefdoms.
So the fight was heavily in favor of catholics.
Enter Skipper Clement, the leader of the Protestant revolution.
He amassed, single handedly, a massive farmer army, and put it up against the pro army.
The first battle was just outside Aalborg, where the two clashed.
To the chock of most of the world of the 15 hundreds, Skipper Clement won, and was the hero of the day.
We still have a massive bronze statue of him just at the outskirts of Aalborg.
What was it, that he did, that made him win the day; you may have guessed it; TERRAIN.
Terrain is the only thing that a farmers army can actually manipulate.
The farmer army was positioned just behind a bog. So, when the pro army of heavy knights came rolling at them, the bog sucked the all up, and the knights became sitting ducks for the farmers.
All hail to Skipper Clement.
Now, if we use this battle to reflect on the current situation on Gaza, what then springs to the eye?
Does Gaza seem like a bog, that sucks the pro army of Israel down?
Not to diminish the amazing bravery of Israeli troops, they are amazing. But they fighting in a bog.
The edge that Israel has in comparison to other conventional armies, is lessened to a massive degree.
So, this is the issue, with the current fighting.
The idea of making tunnels was an idea that was first invented in Vietnam, that was kind of the same fight.
So, what would be the most rational and strategic thing to do?
Get out of the bog, and find a way around it.
It is a simple as that.
Fighting in a terrain that gives you such drawbacks in terms of strategy is not wise.
But, and this is where the lesson of Skipper Clement comes to the fore.
If you change the terrain, you win.
What did the German knights do? They regrouped, and attacked the city of Aalborg (you can still see some remains of that fight).
So they won.
CHOOSING TERRAIN was the key.
So, this is just a tip for the current government of Israel, think about terrain, and you will win.
G-d bless the peace that we can find at the end of this fight.