What Israel urgently needs to learn from the Vietnam War

Israel’s fight against Hamas in Gaza, now dragging into its 18th month, feels like a slow bleed. The war clearly has no clear end in sight and no actual game plan. Soldiers, analysts, and commentators are speaking up, warning that sticking around without a decisive win risks not just lives but the country’s spirit.

They point to Vietnam’s Vietcong, who outlasted a superpower, as a grim reminder of what happens when you let a weaker enemy hang on. With Hamas digging in and tensions boiling at home, Israel faces a tough question: keep grinding, or find a way to end this for good?

Michael Shefraber, a commentator, stirred up debate with a recent X post comparing Israel’s Gaza campaign to past military flops. He brought up the Vietcong, the scrappy guerrillas who wore down the U.S. in Vietnam. The U.S. poured in troops, set up outposts, and chased vague hopes of a breakthrough, only to end up humiliated in 1975, with helicopters scrambling to evacuate Saigon’s embassy.

The Vietcong didn’t need big wins; they just had to survive, outlasting a fed up American public. “Hamas gets this,” Shefraber wrote. “Time is on their side.” By holding out, rebuilding tunnels, and keeping a grip on Gaza despite Israel’s claims of breaking them, Hamas racks up small victories that add up. Every day Israel hesitates, Hamas gets stronger.

Shefraber didn’t stop at Vietnam. He mentioned World War I’s Battle of the Somme, where a million soldiers died for barely any ground, and Israel’s own history: the grueling War of Attrition after the Six Day War, and the nearly 20 year slog in Lebanon, where the IDF got stuck fighting Hezbollah until a messy 2000 pullout.

These examples show what happens when you don’t push forward: the front line wears out, and the public back home loses faith. In Gaza, it’s a familiar story. Operations like Cast Lead, Protective Edge, and now Iron Swords start with big promises but end in shaky ceasefires, letting Hamas regroup. “Every delay, every time we hold back, it’s a win for them,” Shefraber said, noting how Hamas, like the Vietcong, thrives by just staying alive.

Dr. Eddie Cohen, a Middle East scholar at the Israel Center for Grand Strategy, echoed this in a Monday interview. He said Israel’s wasting a rare chance to hit Hamas hard, given the world’s initial support after October 7. “We’re not using the opening we got,” Cohen said. He laughed off ideas that Hamas might ditch its weapons or move to another country, pointing to their recent vows to keep fighting. “They’re in it for the long haul.”

Cohen wants Israel to rethink its approach, warning that half measures and diplomatic tiptoeing won’t cut it. He also took a swipe at Qatar, dismissing their prime minister’s claim that there’s no “Qatar Gate” in hostage talks, calling it a dodge to hide their role in Gaza’s mess.

The war’s toll hits hardest through voices like Sergeant Yotam Asban, wounded in Gaza a year ago. Speaking from his hospital bed on the Patriots show, Asban begged the government not to let his sacrifice be for nothing. “We didn’t bleed for this country just to face the same fight again in a few years, worse than before,” he said, his words raw. “I can’t bear to visit my friends’ graves on Memorial Day knowing we’re headed there.”

Asban, nearly killed in a clash with terrorists, worries that stopping the war too soon will let Hamas rebuild. He’s thinking about rallying thousands of wounded soldiers for a public letter but isn’t sure he has the energy while still recovering. “The hostages matter, but we’ve got to finish this war for good,” he said, calling it a fight of right against wrong.

Trouble at home makes things worse. Just look at the recent chaos at Tel HaShomer, where ultra Orthodox protesters blocked roads to fight Haredi draft orders, clashing with police who called the protest illegal. These kinds of splits show what Shefraber meant when he said a stuck war “poisons” the public. In Israel, people need to feel safe to keep going, but when the war drags on with no goal, frustration builds. Trust in leaders fades, society frays, and folks get tired of carrying the load. Hamas’s staying power, shown by a recent attempt to kidnap four female soldiers (stopped by quick IDF action), keeps the danger real.

Shefraber leaned on David Ben Gurion, Israel’s first prime minister, who said, “If you don’t move forward, you’re moving back.” Ben Gurion knew begging for ceasefires from a weak spot spells trouble. Cohen brought up General Zhukov, who turned the tide at Stalingrad with a daring attack.

The message for Israel is clear: don’t get bogged down like the U.S. in Vietnam or the IDF in Lebanon. “It’s a simple choice,” Shefraber wrote. “Keep dragging on and pay more every day, or realize only finishing this brings hope.”

But finishing isn’t easy. Cohen’s jab at Qatar shows the diplomatic tangles, and Asban’s push for total war has to weigh against hostage talks. The Vietcong comparison is painful because it fits: like Hamas, they hid among civilians, used tunnels, and got help from outside to outlast a stronger enemy.

Hamas’s survival keeps global focus on Gaza’s suffering, not its own attacks, as seen in campaigns like “All Eyes on Rafah.” Israel has to fight that story while figuring out how to win, no simple task.

Right now, Shefraber, Cohen, and Asban all agree: sticking around in Gaza without a plan is a slow rot. Israel’s past, from Ben Gurion’s grit to Lebanon’s hard lessons, demands action.

Whether the country can find the will and strategy to break this cycle is anyone’s guess, but every day it waits, the price gets steeper. For a nation built on fighting to survive, that’s a cost it can’t keep paying.

Channel 14 contributed to this article.