Mixed Messages From Israel on How Much Longer Gaza War Will Last

As Reservists Pour Across the Border, Some Talk of Quick End to War

As Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert touted his military’s “impressive gains” in having killed nearly 900 people in the first 15 days of the war in the Gaza Strip, the question everyone really wants to know is how much longer this whole war business is going to take. Nobody seems to know for sure.

Olmert’s declarations of gains aside, he still insists the military hasn’t reached its goals, and must press ahead. On the other hand, other Israeli officials say that they are “close to ending the ground operation and ending the operation altogether.”

But at the same time, busloads of Israeli reservists poured across the border, not exactly indicative of a military wrapping up its commitment in the area. Indications are that while the government hopes to wrap the war up pretty soon, the military wants to continue the effort until it nets some sort of ill-defined victory.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.