It is not clear whether Israel or Hamas gained more in the latest round of fighting, former National Security Advisor Uzi Arad said in a lecture Tuesday. There is no such thing as a complete victory in this type of conflict, he said, and only time will tell which side came out ahead.
The Pillar of Defense counter-terror operation suffered from overly modest aims, said Arad. However, he said, the aims, while insufficient, were at least realistic – a positive change from Gaza operations in 2006 and the Second Lebanon War in the same year.