To analyze a war accurately, one must apply an analytical framework suited to its actual character. This requirement is nowhere more evident than in assessments of the Gaza War between Israel and Hamas. Much commentary on the conflict has implicitly measured it against a perceived “gold standard” of humane warfare: restrained campaigns emphasizing separation between insurgents and civilians, dismounted ground operations, and expansive humanitarian assistance designed to win “hearts and minds.”This model is often drawn from interpretations of Western experience in Iraq and Afghanistan, including battles such as Fallujah, Mosul, and the surge. Those wars encompassed multiple modes of warfare: … Continue reading Gaza and the Logic of High-Intensity Urban Warfare