Between the Vietnam and the Gaza Wars
We have to be very careful about comparing different wars in different contexts. And yet, against the background of the renewed escalation of the Israeli war in the Gaza Strip, the increased number of civilian casualties among the Palestinian population, the re-occupation of the area, and the forced movement of most of its civilian population towards a tiny sector of the territory, there is room for such a comparison. In the past, we Israelis drew parallels between the U.S. intervention in Vietnam (1964-1975) and the second phase of the first Lebanon War (1985-2000), whereas the Israeli military remained in a tiny ‘security zone’ in Southern Lebanon facing a guerrilla war with Hezbollah, until a unilateral withdrawal in May 2000.
What do the Vietnam War and the Israeli-Hamas War have in common? The ‘weaker’ side (the Palestinians and the Vietnamese) experienced a casualty rate of 30-1 in comparison with the ‘stronger’ side (the U.S. and Israel), most of them civilians. Second, war crimes and crimes against humanity have been conducted by all the parties concerned. Third, the Nixon Administration delayed the end of the war due to cynical considerations of domestic politics and elections, similarly to the current Israeli government. Fourth, the war spilled over to neighboring countries and had rippled regional effects (Laos and Cambodia in the Vietnam War; Syria, Lebanon, Iran, and even Yemen, in the Israel-Hamas War).
Moreover, in both cases the war negatively affected the national interest and the security of the stronger parties (the USA and Israel), because of failed strategic conceptions, misperceptions, and political manipulations. In the U.S. case, the war was portrayed as a crusade against Communism, with the strategic danger of a ‘domino theory’ that might lead to the fall of South Korea, and Japan, if South Vietnam would be abandoned. In the Israeli case, following the genocidal massacre conducted by Hamas on October 7th, 2023, and especially since the recent Israeli unilateral violation of the cease-fire on March 18, 2025, the Israeli government depicts its intention to physically eliminate Hamas as the only way to avoid another massacre (and in its way, it is ready to sacrifice the lives of more hostages, soldiers, and innocent women and children in Gaza). And yet, both in the United States and in Israel there was (and there is) an increasing awareness, including among the military echelons, about the futility of continuing a war without a clear exit strategy despite the enormous air power superiority, technological advantage, and power disparity and asymmetry between the belligerent parties. Thus, in both cases, revenge, inertia, lack of prudence, tactical concerns, and lack of a strategic vision replaced political wisdom (realpolitik), and moral considerations, leading to an unnecessary and unwinnable war of attrition and guerrilla.
And yet, the two wars are very different, in substantial terms. First, the Vietnam War ended due to the growing pressure from within the U.S. civil society, leading to civil insurrection, and the massive opposition to continue a war without any clear and rational political goals. In Israel, due to the trauma of October 7th, that realization has not decanted yet, despite a majority of the public opinion (‘the silent majority’?) that supports an end to the war with the immediate return of the hostages. Many Israelis are still not aware that the only way to defeat Hamas is through political, not military means, by building a better alternative to its brutal rule in Gaza.
Another important distinction is the fact that the Vietnamese fought an authentic war of national liberation and de-colonization, whereas Hamas is a genocidal and fundamentalist organization, which has harmed first and foremost the Palestinian people itself. Its ideological aim has been to create a Jihadist Palestinian state “from the river to the sea” instead of Israel, not alongside it. Finally, whereas the Gaza Strip is located about one-hour drive from Tel-Aviv and two hours from Jerusalem, Vietnam lies thousands of miles away from the United States, not posing any significant threat to its homeland.
What can we learn from history and extrapolate towards the future? In the case of the Vietnam War, the United States and North Vietnam signed a peace agreement in 1973. That agreement was violated by North Vietnam, which united the country by force in 1975. Since then, Vietnam experienced a significant metamorphosis. It established diplomatic relations with the United States in 1995, and nowadays it has become its economic and military partner. In the Palestinian case, the war has to end now with the return of all the remaining 58 hostages, and the replacement of Hamas by an alternative Palestinian legitimate government in Gaza that seeks peaceful coexistence with Israel, and not its destruction. The first step is to bring about a technocratic transitional government in Gaza, with the cooperation and assistance of the United States, the Arab countries, and the rest of the international community, with demilitarization and reconstruction. Israel and the PLO/Palestinian Authority should then return to the diplomatic path, as the only possible way to defeat Hamas and stop the mutual bloodshed. Eventually, a future demilitarized Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza should become Israel’s partner and ally, like in the case of the current U.S.-Vietnamese relations.