What's next now the Gaza ceasefire is over?

Although negotiators had hoped to extend the ceasefire for at least another two days, that was difficult given Hamas was running out of women and children to exchange. It would have had to swap male hostages and soldiers for the ceasefire to continue.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu firmly believes his country is entitled to defend itself against Islamist fanatics who have sworn to eradicate every Jew "from the river to the sea".

He has said Israel would use "every means" to retaliate in the wake of the attack that killed at least 1200 Israelis and foreign nationals.

Harrowing accounts by released hostages make a mockery of claims by Hamas the abductees were being treated well.

Many were injured, food was in short supply and children were submitted to a discipline so brutal that even now they are free they are too traumatised to speak in more than a whisper. One man, an Israeli of Russian descent, escaped only to be captured by Palestinian civilians - so-called non-combatants - and handed back to the terrorists.

Mr Netanyahu made his position clear when, while in talks with the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, two Hamas terrorists murdered three Israelis at a Jerusalem bus stop.

The attackers, brothers, were gunned down by off-duty soldiers and an armed civilian.

Hamas, which claimed responsibility, denies the ceasefire was breached on the rather spurious grounds the murders were in response to Israeli attacks in the West Bank and Jerusalem.

When Mr Blinken told Mr Netanyahu America would continue to support Israel in its struggle against Hamas but that he had to do more to protect "innocent men, women and children" the PM was not impressed.

His goal was to eradicate Hamas, free all the hostages and to ensure Israel "won't face such a threat from Gaza ever again".

Both Mr Netanyahu and his Defence Minister always said they were determined to resume the war "very shortly".

It is inevitable, given Israel will do whatever it takes to achieve its objectives, that now fighting has resumed and the IDF moves south there will be even more civilian casualties. Although it has been suggested Hamas's claims more than 15,000 Palestinians - including at least 6000 children - have been killed are rubbery, no-one can dispute that much of Gaza has been levelled and significant numbers of civilians are dead.

While the Israeli position is that the war would end tomorrow if Hamas surrendered and all the hostages were released that's just not going to happen.

The two sides are in a fight to the finish and both are putting their objectives ahead of the safety of the civilian population.

Hamas has certainly shown no inclination to help civilians to evacuate in response to Israeli warnings or to use its elaborate, and expensive, network of tunnels to shelter the civilian population instead of its military infrastructure.

Although Israel is losing the battle for public opinion with mass rallies in support of the Palestinians around the world, it is important to remember this war started on October 7 with what has been described as the worst terrorist attack since September 11, 2001.

It is naive in the extreme to think that Israel would not respond in kind in the face of such provocation.

Mr Netanyahu, whose political survival depends on winning, is on the horns of two dilemmas.

What happens if Israel is able to achieve its war aims? And what happens if it isn't?

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Responsibility for election comment is taken by John-Paul Moloney of 121 Marcus Clarke Street, Canberra. Published by Federal Capital Press of Australia Pty Ltd.