Three months on, Israel is entering a new phase of war. Is it still trying to ‘destroy’ Hamas?

Three months ago, speaking to citizens rocked by a horrific day of attacks by Hamas, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued his country a singular promise.

Three months ago, speaking to citizens rocked by a horrific day of attacks by Hamas, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a promise. “The IDF will immediately use all its strength to destroy Hamas’s capabilities,” Netanyahu said. “We will destroy them.” Now, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is shifting to a new phase of its war on Hamas in Gaza – and there are signs its objectives are changing too. “The record is not very friendly to military campaigns seeking to eradicate political military movement that are deeply rooted,” Bilal Y. Saab, an associate fellow in the Middle East and North Africa at Chatham House, told CNN. “IDF leadership understands very well that the most they can do is severely degrade the military capabilities of Hamas,” Saab said. Israel has seen some successes in that regard; its forces claim to have killed thousands of Hamas fighters, including some high-ranking members, and have dismantled some parts of the group’s vast tunnel network under the enclave.