Hamas’s Strategic Choices and the Inevitability of Gaza’s Destruction
Victor Davis Hanson argues that the destruction of Gaza was not an unavoidable consequence of Israeli policy but a direct result of Hamas’s specific strategic decisions. He contends that the conflict could have been avoided if Hamas had surrendered the 251 hostages and the perpetrators of the October 7 attacks, or if it had not integrated its military infrastructure into civilian areas. Hanson asserts that Hamas’s refusal to cooperate, its use of human shields, and its participation in an Iranian-backed regional strategy made the subsequent Israeli military response inevitable. He rejects external critiques of Israel’s actions, arguing that concepts like proportionality and accusations of genocide or apartheid are historically and factually inconsistent with the realities of the conflict and the demographics of the region.