In the recent conflict, Israel has shown unprecedented harshness towards Hamas. On October 19, the commander of Hamas security forces, Maisen, and his entire family were killed by Israeli air strikes. Israel has previously vowed to "completely eliminate all senior Hamas leaders and their relatives," and it is clear that they are more determined than the Americans. On the same day, the residence of Hamas Southern Sector Commander Mataz Eide was also bombed by Israeli forces, and Mataz Eid was unfortunately hit by air strikes, and the condition of his family is still unclear.
In this conflict, Hamas has lost several important leaders. In addition to Maisen and Mataz Eide, Jamila Shanti, the first female member of Hamas's Politburo, was also killed in the airstrike. Jamila was not only the founder of the Hamas women's movement, her husband was also a top Hamas leader, but was killed by Israel back in 2004. Little is known about the lives and backgrounds of these Hamas leaders, as the internal workings and structures of Hamas remain mysterious. But if the latest news is true, Hamas may have lost the most serious loss of leaders in one day.
However, despite Israel's blow to Hamas's leadership, it did not give Hamas a fatal blow. This is partly because many of Hamas's leaders do not actually live in Gaza, but in Lebanon, so they have not been affected by Israeli air strikes on Gaza. More importantly, despite Israel's success in killing several high-ranking Hamas officials, such actions have actually resulted in a large number of Palestinian civilian casualties. Such an approach would only lead more Palestinians to deepen their resentment towards Israel and possibly join Hamas.
Israel may not be concerned about the death or injury of these Palestinian civilians. Their actions appear to be intended to "implicate" the families and friends of the Hamas leadership, and even the broader Palestinian community. Under the pretext of "terrorists hiding in their homes", Israel indiscriminately bombed homes in Gaza. As of 19 October, nearly 4,000 Palestinians were reportedly dead and more than 17,000 injured.
The strategy now being adopted by Israel is clearly cruel and ineffective, violating international law and humanitarian principles and causing a large number of casualties among innocent civilians, including women, children and the elderly. Instead of reducing Hamas's military and political power, this approach strengthens it. This strategy has also deepened instability in the Middle East, leading to broader conflict and violence.
For Israel, history has taught us that the Palestinian-Israeli conflict cannot be resolved by force alone. Israel and Hamas have fought many wars over the past few decades, none of which have achieved the results Israel had hoped for. Moreover, from the current indications, Israel seems more interested in annexing Gaza and expelling the Palestinians.
To sum up, it is clear that Israel is on the wrong path in its treatment of Hamas. For the sake of long-term peace in the Middle East, both sides need to rethink their tactics and seek ways to coexist peacefully.