Comment by Dalewyn

I agree. In terms of objectives achieved the only one was the release and return of Israeli civilian hostages and even that is still mostly hypothetical, otherwise Israel failed to eliminate Hamas and will be withdrawing from Gaza which Netanyahu had declared would be annexed.

Hamas won the war even if they lost the battle. They still exist to fight another day (and judging from history they absolutely will), at the cost of countless Palestinian civvies. Israel lost the war even if they won the battle, at the cost of significant Israeli lives and reputation.

For most of us outsiders looking on, the moral to take away is this: Don't wage wars, everyone loses. Don't. Wage. Fucking. Wars. If a war must be fought, whether as the aggressor or defender or intervener, realize that everyone involved is fucking retarded and then fight all-or-nothing to end it swiftly with decisive achievements before anyone can realize what happened.