Israel can point to real military achievements since Oct. 7.
Hamas has been shattered across much of Gaza. Its tunnel network has been exposed and demolished, its commanders killed, its units broken. Hezbollah has paid a heavy price for opening a northern front. Iran has absorbed blows it did not expect, including direct assaults from both Israel and the United States.
And yet the strategic picture is not simple.
Israel is more diplomatically isolated than it was before the massacre. It faces more legal attacks, more arms embargoes, more drives to recognize a Palestinian state, more hostile media framing, and more open attempts to turn Israeli self-defense into an international crime.
The paradox is that Israel may be winning the visible war while Hamas achieves part of the war it actually wanted.
But it must be stated clearly that this is not Israel’s fault.
Israel did not fail to understand its enemies. Israelis recognized the trap almost immediately. They knew Hamas wanted dead Jews first and dead Palestinians second, each serving a different purpose in the same war. They knew...
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