Hamas Re-wrote History of Israeli-Arab Wars

Similarities of Gaza war to past Arab-Israeli wars 

1. Ideological and political nature

The confrontation with Israel and the push to retake occupied Palestinian territories has been the top goal of all wars fought by Arab countries and Palestinian resistance against the Israeli occupation. Both in the 1948 and the 1967 wars fought by Egypt-led Arab armies and the recent wars by Hamas and Islamic Jihad, and Hezbollah, the ideological motivation was the driving force. 

2. Role of foreign powers 

Another similarity of the Gaza war and other Arab-Israeli wars is the direct and indirect support of the international actors to the two sides of the conflict. The full-scale political, financial, military, intelligence, and media support by the West and particularly the US has been an unwavering policy. On the opposite side, the key backer of Hamas is the Axis of Resistance whose support under the "unity of fronts" policy left tangible influence on the course of war and scoring the victory to the Gaza resistance. This comes as during the recent war in Gaza, most Arab and Islamic countries, especially the Persian Gulf countries, only played a marginal role with condemnations and calls for end of war without any steps for practical actions. 

3. Economic and diplomatic pressures 

Both in the Arab-Israeli wars and in the recent Gaza war, sanctions and diplomatic pressure have been used as an instrument for crisis management, although there are differences in the type of these pressures and their aims. In the political sphere, in the recent Gaza war, despite the US approach of repeatedly and unrestrictedly using the veto to thwart the Security Council's efforts to stop the war, other international bodies and various countries independently tried to exert economic and political pressure against the Israeli regime. In this relation, we can mention the resolutions of the UN General Assembly and the Human Rights Council, the ruling condemning the regime's leaders in the International Criminal Court as war criminals, the increase in the recognition of the independent Palestinian state in the world, especially in some European countries, the issuance of judicial orders for Israeli soldiers in some countries such as Brazil, and other such cases.

In terms of economic pressure, while in past wars the most prominent action taken by Arab countries was to cut off oil exports from the West to pressure Tel Aviv, in the recent war the factor the put strains on Israel was the Yemeni ban on Israeli and allied navigation in the Red Sea and Bab-el-Mandeb Mandab Strait, paralyzing the strategic port of Eilat in the occupied territories and cutting the regime's 300 billion shekel ($84 billion) foreign trade by 30 percent. 

Differences of Gaza war with past Arab-Israeli wars 

1. Nature of involved actors 

The wars between Arab states (Egypt, Syria, Jordan, etc.) and the Israeli regime were of a state and classic nature, while Gaza war was between Israel and non-state resistance groups such as Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and Hezbollah. 

2. Hamas's preemptive attack 

While in past wars, the Israeli regime usually acted as the aggressor side and the Palestinians were on the defensive, in the recent war, Hamas took the initiative with an unprecedented attack on the occupied territories. This change of roles reflects a shift in Hamas' military strategies and an increase in its capabilities.

3. Military strategies 

In classical wars, Arab armies used conventional warfare with heavy equipment. In the recent Gaza war, Hamas used asymmetric and urban warfare tactics, such as long-range rocket fire, drone strikes, roadside bombs, and the use of tunnels and war of attrition tactics.

4. Popular support 

The Palestinian resistance has enjoyed greater popular support than Arab state armies due to its closer ties to Palestinian society in Gaza and the West Bank. In contrast, Arab armies have often lacked this advantage due to their bureaucratic structures and internal politics. Popular support has enabled the resistance to withstand and absorb the regime’s massive attacks and full military occupation of Gaza, and the plans to create a humanitarian crisis, famine, and health catastrophe to bring Hamas to its knees, and impose ceasefire terms. Also, popular influence has enabled Hamas to quickly recruit and reorganize itself.

5. Resistance's technological advances 

Unlike Arab armies that relied on imported foreign weapons, Hamas has been able to procure most of its military equipment, including missiles, drones, and anti-armor rockets domestically and in a localized manner.

6. Social media and news coverage role

Social media played a more prominent role in this war. With journalists' access to Gaza restricted and the Israeli army deliberately targeting media personnel, information and images of the war were mainly disseminated through social networks.

Political and military ramifications 

Hamas’s Operation Al-Aqsa Storm and then the legendary resistance of the people over the past 15 months turned the political and military tides. This can leave long-term impacts on the Israeli security, political and social developments, West Bank developments, and the Israeli relations to the region and the world. Compared to Arab armies, Hamas’s success over Israel should be summerized as follows: 

1. Flexibility and asymmetric strategy 

Using modern warfare methods, Hamas has managed to inflict considerable damage on Israel. While Arab armies often failed in conventional wars, either losing part of their territory or, like Egypt, being forced to accept a costly and imposed peace treaty, Hamas achieved great successes by utilizing asymmetric methods (such as tunnel warfare, the use of drones, and missile attacks). In addition to forcing the enemy to completely withdraw from Gaza, contrary to the initial promises of Tel Aviv leaders about a long-term presence in the region and permanent occupation of northern Gaza, it was also able to force the Israelis to release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners under a prisoner swap deal. 

2. Creating psychological and strategic deterrence

In this war, with the support of other branches of the Axis of Resistance such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and Ansarallah in Yemen, Hamas managed to establish deterrence by firing thousands of rockets deep into Israel and affecting the regime's main population and economic powerhouses. In contrast, Arab armies in 1967 and 1973 wars were unable to create this level of continuous threat.

3. Using regular and social media

Hamas has been able to spread the Palestinian narrative globally through the media outlets and social media, while in past wars, Arab armies had fewer tools to influence global public opinion.

4. International popular support

The Gaza war showed that resistance groups can garner greater popular support around the world, especially through human rights campaigns. The widespread international support for the Palestinian cause and the fight against the Israeli occupation, especially in Western countries, which led to the formation of the largest student movement in the US since the events of the 1960s, was a major development in the globalization of the Palestinian cause and the world's awareness of the truth about the suffering of this people.

5. Survival and continuity of resistance

While Arab armies were defeated and had to retreat, Hamas and other resistance groups have managed to secure their political and military survival despite enormous Israeli attacks.

Conclusion

Due to the change in nature of actors, military strategies, and technological advances of the Palestinian resistance, the recent Gaza war has major differences from the classical wars between Arabs and Israelis. Compared to the Arab armies, Hamas with its resistance has made a bigger success creating deterrence and attracting popular and international support. These successes are indicative of the change in the form and structure of the resistance to Israel, shifting from conventional conflict to popular and asymmetric warfare. These shifts can also affect the outlook of future wars in the region.