A rocket is fired from a Hamas position towards Israeli troops near Beit Hanoun in the Gaza Strip. Photo: Reuters handout

Israel should not be marking its territory in Gaza. First, the IDF released images of the Israeli flag planted along the beach in Gaza. Then they conquered the Hamas parliament building, and released a photo of soldiers waving the Israeli flag there. Then Bibi Netanyahu made a trip to visit troops in Gaza, demonstrating that it is firmly within Israeli control.

This is a mistake.

How can Israel claim that it is not trying to recapture Gaza and displace the Palestinians there when these images suggest otherwise? Every time Israel releases an image of the Israeli flag in Gaza, it undermines the position that Israel’s military campaign is righteous and not just a land grab.

There are other ways to flaunt military might and demoralize the enemy.

Gaza is not the only front in this war. While Israel clearly has the military advantage, it is arguably losing the war of public opinion. And the two fronts impact each other.

What happens on the battlefield influences public opinion, and public opinion affects what happens on the battlefield. Hamas’ strategy of maximizing harm to its civilian population is effective because public pressure for a ceasefire grows with every civilian casualty.

Israel cannot afford to provide propaganda for its adversaries. These images of the IDF planting flags in Gaza are a gift to the Hamas apologists in the media and on college campuses.

Qatari state-owned Arabic-language news network Al Jazeera was very quick to post the images, because the pictures support the narrative that Israel is using the October 7 massacre as an excuse to annex Gaza. Hamas is extremely adept at manipulating world opinion — because much of the world seems inclined to believe that Israel is evil and Hamas is a legitimate resistance movement.

Israel does not need to assist them further.

It doesn’t help that Netanyahu said he plans to “retain security control of Gaza indefinitely.” That statement is as reckless as it is tone deaf, even if he has since walked it back a little.

Netanyahu’s support for the expansion of settlements in the West Bank has undermined Israel’s standing in the world. At the very moment when the IDF instructed Gazans to evacuate the north, Netanyahu was telling the world that Israel intends to occupy Gaza indefinitely.

You can’t blame Gazans for fearing that by complying with orders to evacuate, they are forfeiting their homes. For Netanyahu to be so cavalier about occupation shows a complete disregard for how his comments will be interpreted by anyone who is not a member of his right-wing coalition.

While Israel must demilitarize Gaza and defang Hamas, it cannot and should not occupy Gaza indefinitely. Doing so would cost untold IDF casualties and put peace even farther out of reach.

So what should Israel do once the threat that Hamas poses has been neutralized? An international peacekeeping force should relieve the IDF in Gaza, and allay concerns over annexation. Such a force would not provide a target for terrorists, and it would lower the tension in the region. Turning down the temperature will be necessary in the months that follow, in order to create the conditions in which a long-term solution can be negotiated.

At the moment, the military campaign in Gaza has been paused. While calls to extend the ceasefire grow, the idea that it will become permanent is a fantasy. Eventually, Hamas will run out of hostages to trade for time, or Israel will refuse to release more prisoners, or the truce will founder for some other reason.

Despite pressure from the international community, this respite will end and the fighting will resume. When it does, Israel should resist the temptation to plant its flags all over Gaza.