【issues】Can Israel Survive?

As Israeli troops encircle Gaza City, their commanders are faced with a painful dilemma: How far must they advance into the deadly laby-rinth of slums and refugee camps where Hamas militants await with booby-trapped houses and snipers? With each passing day, Israel's war against Hamas grows riskier and more punishing, with the gains appearing to diminish compared to the spireling costs--to Israel's moral stature to the lives of Palestinian civilians and to the world's hopes that an ancient conflict can ever be resolved.

Ideadlly, in a way shaped by television images, Israelis would like a tableau of surrender: grimy Hamas commanders crawling from underground bunkers with their hands up. Instead, the deaths of at least 40 civilians taking shelter at a United Nations --run school north of Gaza City are more likely to become the dominant image of the war. Israeli politicians and generals know that the total elimination of Hamas' entrenched military command could take weeks; it might be altogether impossible. The more realistic outcome is an unsatisfactory brokered truce that leaves Hamas wounded but alive and able to regenerate-- and Israel only temporarily safe from attack.