‘Sacrifice’ captives: Israel divided over end of ceasefire in Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s political problems have been piling up. More court proceedings in his corruption trial, public anger at his attempts to dismiss the head of the Shin Bet domestic intelligence service and a push from outside – and inside – his government to end the ceasefire in Gaza.

And so on Tuesday, he returned to war. Those problems seem less important, for now. His appearance in court was postponed, the protests planned against his dismissal of the head of the Shin Bet have been overshadowed and the politicians pushing for war have been satisfied.
Meanwhile, in Gaza, the consequences of Netanyahu’s decision have been horrifying with more than 400 Palestinians killed in just one night of bombing and the knowledge that this is likely just the start of more death and destruction.

Alon Pinkas, former Israeli ambassador and consul general in New York, told Al Jazeera that the overnight strikes ordered by Netanyahu were purely “about survival politics” for the prime minister, intended to distract “from the dismissal of the head of Shabak [Shin Bet]”.