Ceasefire

Israel's military assault on Gaza has come to an end. With nothing to claim but the lives of 1,200 people.

So ceasefire it is. At last. After pounding Gaza for three weeks, inlcuding UN buildings and schools, Israel announced it had "fully attained its goals" and "beyond" and Hamas had been defeated. Except that "hours later, five rockets fell near the Israeli border town of Sderot, and there was a brief exchange of fire".

This crisis has confirmed that the best gift to Israel's propaganda machine are the continuous references to WWII and the world 'Nazi'. Because instead of answering the merits of its action, the Israeli government can simply reiterate their calls against anti-Semitism. Robert Fisk's piece in yesterday's Independent is the perfect counterargument.

Today's Observer brands it a "pointless war [that] has led to a moral defeat for Israel". "Israeli authorities will insist that they have limited the ability of Hamas to launch rocket attacks. But the ostensible war aim was destroying that capability completely". And in fact, opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu, tipped for an election victory next month, is now calling for "the complete removal of Hamas from power".