Counting the costs:
Netanyahu, therefore, may be able to capitalise on the public sentiment and even present himself as the one who ended the war and achieved several strategic goals before any new elections, earning himself another stay of political execution.

But for Israeli society, there is a cost to waging war on a scale that rights groups have characterised as genocide besides,
1. the captives held in Gaza,
2. the soldiers returning from Gaza and Lebanon, in coffins
3. and Israel’s growing international isolation.

In fact, for many observers, the Israel emerging from the carnage of Gaza is one far removed from the state that existed before the Hamas-led attacks of October 7, 2023 which killed 1,139 people.

Over the ensuing war, the right-wing extremes of Israeli politics have staked a claim to the centre while the reach of the security services has extended beyond the limits many thought previously possible.