Israeli Analysts Warn of “Vietnamization” in Gaza Amid Disastrous Beit Hanoun Operation

Watan-Following the devastating Beit Hanoun operation, in which the Israeli army suffered significant losses close to Gaza’s northern border, many Israeli commentators and military analysts are sounding the alarm: Israel may be sliding into a war of attrition in Gaza—one that some compare to Lebanon, and others even to Vietnam.

Writing in Haaretz, military analyst Amos Harel raises the existential question being asked by many in Israel: What is the point of this war? In his article titled “Without Purpose,” Harel highlights the futility of Israel’s ongoing campaign in Gaza. He notes that five Israeli funerals were held even as Netanyahu met Trump in Washington—an image that starkly underscores, in his words, Israel’s entrapment in “a pointless and prolonged war.”

Harel criticizes Netanyahu’s continued avoidance of a meaningful resolution, pointing to the Prime Minister’s alleged plan to resume the war after a partial hostage deal, rather than pursue a comprehensive agreement. This includes backing the so-called “humanitarian city” plan in Rafah, promoted by Israeli Minister of Security Israel Katz, which aims to corral displaced Gazans into a devastated zone in southern Gaza. Haaretz, in its Wednesday editorial titled “Transfer Camps,” savagely condemns this idea as a thinly veiled plan for mass displacement under the guise of humanitarianism, stating:“The ‘chosen people,’ through the ‘most moral army,’ are offering Gaza a humanitarian city that is, in reality, a deportation scheme.”

In Yedioth Ahronoth, political analyst Nadav Eyal echoes these fears. He writes that Israel is now in its “Vietnam phase” in Gaza, caught in a war of attrition with no strategic clarity and increasing human cost. Meanwhile, columnist Raanan Shaked issues a scathing rebuke of Netanyahu and his son Yair—who never served in the military—sarcastically urging Israeli soldiers to “keep dying so Yair can take selfies with Trump in Miami.”

A political cartoon in Yedioth Ahronoth sharpens the critique, showing Katz bursting into a Nobel Peace Prize committee meeting riding a tank adorned with Trump’s portrait—an ironic jab at the absurdity of proposing peace while leading a brutal war.

From a military standpoint, Yedioth’s analyst Yossi Yehoshua states that the success of Hamas in Beit Hanoun stems from its complex tunnel network, which Israel has yet to dismantle. He warns that to neutralize the threat would require a long, costly operation.

The situation recalls the early 1980s during the First Lebanon War, when massive Israeli protests erupted after the Sabra and Shatila massacre. But this time, such protests are absent, possibly due to a mix of national exhaustion, governmental apathy, and desensitization to violence—or even latent support for extreme solutions like displacement.

Several former generals are also speaking out. Giora Eiland, Israel Ziv, and Yitzhak Brick (nicknamed the “Prophet of Wrath”) warn that defeating Hamas militarily is a dangerous illusion, citing dishonest leadership, incompetent commanders, and eroded discipline in the Israeli army. Brick bluntly concludes:“Despite some tactical successes, Israel cannot cut off the snake’s head. This means our destiny is to live by the sword for many years.”