After hundreds are killed in Gaza conflict, Israelis ask: Who won?

BEERSHEBA, ISRAEL – On Thursday night, Israeli military officers leading the Gaza offensive tallied what they considered the achievements of their latest conflict with Hamas: scores of militants killed, 340 rocket launchers destroyed, 60 miles of underground tunnels collapsed.

But with the declaration of a cease-fire — after more than 10 days of fighting that killed at least 230 Palestinians and 12 Israelis, and devastated hospitals, homes and other infrastructure in Gaza — the mood at the two bases, one in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba, the other in Tel Aviv, was mixed.

In Tel Aviv, the generals at military high command were triumphant. But in Beersheba, where commanders oversaw significant parts of the campaign in Gaza, there was greater caution.

On three occasions since Hamas took full control of Gaza in 2007, Israel has launched major offenses aimed at degrading the group's military capabilities, only to see Hamas rebuild and with little success in actually changing the situation. This time, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed, would be different.

Armed with extensive war plans, Israel's military leaders methodically went down a list of targets, trying to inflict maximum damage on Hamas' military capabilities and its commanders. Yet even now, the top echelons of the Israeli military acknowledge that their efforts may not prevent another round of fighting, perhaps even in the near future.

Nevertheless, many expressed satisfaction with what was accomplished in degrading Hamas. As they emerge after the cease-fire, Hamas' leaders will be sorry that they started this round, said one high-ranking Israeli officer in Tel Aviv, who was involved in the planning and execution of the operation. Hamas, he added, did not know how much Israeli intelligence knew about them and how effectively Israel would thwart all their attack plans.

But others were more tentative. Even if Israel had met its objectives, a senior officer in Beersheba said, it remained uncertain whether the war would prevent future battles.

"I just don't know," the officer in Beersheba said, speaking anonymously. "We need more time to analyze whether it was a success."

Questions have been raised in Israel, the U.S. and elsewhere about whether the Israeli military's response to Hamas' rocket attacks was proportionate and in adherence to international law.

Even once the war ends, the issues that fueled it will remain. And the war has also created a diplomatic cost for Israel, since it has heightened criticism of Israeli policies from an increasing number of Democrats in the U.S.

The very calculus that Israel uses to judge its military success is illegitimate, said Yousef Munayyer, a Washington-based analyst and rights campaigner.