These days, as Israel marks 18 months of war in Gaza, that unwritten agreement is a dead letter. It was steadily undermined by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who chose to press on with the fighting despite mounting evidence that his war aims were unachievable—and finally shredded by his decision in March to unilaterally scrap the cease-fire with Hamas. That brief truce, brokered by the United States in January, had freed 33 hostages and held out the possibility of further releases. Instead, Israeli assaults on Gaza are back with a vengeance.
Around this time last year, as then-U.S. President Joe Biden was outlining possible terms for a cease-fire in Gaza, an Israeli defense official explained to me why the military supported a pause in the fighting. The reason had little to do with the combat itself. Instead, a cease-fire offered a chance to restore the social contract between the state and the Israeli public, including the understanding that Israel should only wage wars that serve the public good and always prioritize the release of captive soldiers and civilians.
Around this time last year, as then-U.S.
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