For years, Israel’s approach to Gaza was one of passive containment. No future Israeli government will make that mistake again. In the longer term, this will be the most crushing blow to Hamas, as it struggles to rebuild after a disastrous war.
When evaluating the aftermath of the Gaza war, much attention is paid to the destruction of physical Hamas assets. Tunnels have been obliterated, stockpiles of rockets depleted, and a significant number of Hamas leaders and commanders killed.
While these losses are significant, they pale in comparison to the strategic shift in the conflict: The end of Israel’s restrained policy toward Gaza.
For years, periods of escalation in Gaza were followed by uneasy ceasefires, brokered through mediators. These agreements allowed Hamas to regroup, rebuild its arsenal and fortify its network of tunnels, while Israel avoided major military action.
This policy had a glaring flaw. It enabled Hamas to operate relatively freely, focusing on its military buildup. As long as the status quo persisted, the underlying threat to Israel’s security remained intact, culminating in the catastrophic events of October 7.
The scale and brutality of the October 7 attack left Israel with no choice but to entirely transform its strategy. Beyond shattering countless lives, the assault destroyed any remaining belief that Hamas could be managed through containment.
The era of tolerating a Hamas army in Gaza in exchange for temporary calm was over.
This shift was dramatic. Israel’s military response has been unprecedented in both intensity and scope. The IDF maneuvered deep into Gaza with massive force, demolishing much of Hamas’ terror base and military power.
New era in Gaza
As Hamas struggles to recover from this devastation, it will face a grim reality: An aggressive, proactive Israeli defense doctrine. For Israel, a return to the old patterns is impossible. For Hamas, this represents a strategic catastrophe.
While Hamas is willing to absorb significant losses to sustain its ideology and maintain power, the group relied on Israel’s tacit acceptance of its military buildup. That acceptance is now gone.
Israel’s focus on dismantling the Hamas infrastructure, combined with long-term refusal to allow the group to remain in power, drastically changes the dynamics of the conflict.
The end of Israel’s passive policy in Gaza has far-reaching implications. For the people of Gaza, it will mean prolonged hardship as military operations continue and the future of governance in the territory remains uncertain.
For the region, it signals a shift in how Israel deals with threats from non-state actors, a shift that will likely extend to Hezbollah in Lebanon and other Iranian proxies.
For Hamas, the loss of rockets, tunnels, and commanders may seem temporary. But the loss of Israel’s passivity—the tolerance that allowed the group to thrive in Gaza—represents a fundamental shift that complicates any hopes for recovery.
October 7 will be remembered as a day of profound tragedy for Israel. But it also marks a turning point in Israel’s approach to Gaza. The greatest asset Hamas has lost is not its weapons or its infrastructure—it is the opportunity to exploit a policy of containment that is now gone.
The era of passivity is over, and with it, the foundations of Hamas’ long-standing strategy have crumbled.
