Understanding Israel's next move

Israel could begin a ground invasion after a few days of intense bombardment. However, there is one key marker to watch for.

Escalations of any kind by Israel will be moderated by the new reality and that is – Israeli citizens and foreigners from eight countries are now hostages of the security apparatus in Gaza.

Exact numbers were not given, although the Israeli military vaguely described the number of hostages as "significant".

Against this backdrop, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be pressured by the families of hostages, including from foreign countries, to give top priority to rescue operations instead.

This makes the option of a liberal bombarding and invasion the likes of Protective Edge 2014, seemingly impossible.

Even if a ground invasion occurs, hostages' survival will be etched on the minds of the Israel Defence Force (IDF) leadership – making this mission delicate and resource-intensive.

I couldn't emphasise more that Israeli casualties from Israeli military fire in Gaza are unacceptable and could backfire on Netanyahu politically, once the dust settles.

Worth noting - Netanyahu faces a trust deficit amongst domestic Israeli voters due to an ongoing corruption trial and his current effort to curtail Israeli judiciary power.

Many see these as Netanyahu's creeping dictatorialism including his increasingly corrupted image.

It would be deduced that Netanyahu's failure to steer the latest battle with the Hamas military including saving Israeli hostages will add woes to his already diminishing credibility, especially in the months to come.

Dr Ferooze Ali is a Senior Research Fellow at Asia Middle East Center for Research and Dialogue (AMEC) Palestinian Studies Group. The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of Sinar Daily.