Opinion | Netanyahu’s Cynical Political Game

The problem is not necessarily Mr. Netanyahu’s hawkish stance, which is shared by many Israelis enraged by the barbaric Hamas raid. It is Mr. Netanyahu’s confusion of leadership with political survival, with the widespread perception that he opposes any negotiated settlement, and any American advice or mediation, not because he really believes they run counter to Israelis’ interests, as he claims, but because appearing to stand up to “American pressure,” and portraying the Gaza war as a far broader conflict about a Palestinian state and Iran, serves his political ends.

That, at least, appears to be what a majority of Israelis believe, even those who might otherwise align with the prime minister’s insistence on trying to fully eradicate Hamas. According to a political poll taken in late December, only 15 percent of Israelis wanted him to stay in office after the war ended.

Beyond Israel’s borders, the scale of casualties and destruction in Gaza is increasingly drawing horror. According to the health ministry in Gaza, more than 26,000 people have been killed, and vast tracts of the narrow strip of land have been leveled. On Friday, the International Court of Justice in The Hague, part of the United Nations, said that Israel must take action to prevent acts of genocide by its forces in Gaza, as well as to allow more aid into the enclave. The ruling, an initial step in a case brought by South Africa accusing Israel of genocide, stopped short of calling on Israel to immediately suspend its military campaign, but it contributed to the pressure on Israel to find ways of disengaging.

How the war ends, however, and what happens “after Gaza,” as Israeli commentators phrase it, strongly depend on who is in charge. Key members of the war cabinet formed to manage the fighting, Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot, both former military chiefs of staff, are known to differ strongly with Mr. Netanyahu, especially on the painful question of the Israeli hostages held by Hamas, believed to be 129 women and men.

Israel has historically gone to great lengths to get back captives, and even the remains of those who perish, so the fate of the hostages is central in the internal Israeli debate on the war. Their families have campaigned passionately to have the release of the hostages a priority in any deliberations on the conduct of the war, fearing, as Mr. Eisenkot said in an interview, that “it is impossible to return the hostages alive in the near future without an agreement.” Mr. Netanyahu and his right-wing backers have insisted that only relentless military pressure on Hamas can lead to their freedom.