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As the dust settled over Gaza and Israel on Thursday amid relative calm, analysts were weighing who were the winners and losers from the conflict.
How do the main players in the region now stack up?
Israel: The conflict represents a qualified victory for the country and its Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to CNN's Paula Newton.
"Just months before an election, Netanyahu's government targeted and killed Hamas' military leader, Ahmed al-Jaabari.
Hundreds of airstrikes on Gaza followed, but, the real victory was possibly the combat debut of Iron Dome, the U.S.-funded defense shield that kept
dozens of Hamas rockets from hitting Israeli civilians."
But some analysts questioned whether the death of al-Jaabari really would benefit Israel. Elizabeth O'Bagy believed it was in fact a mistake. "It will lead
to the proliferation of extremist groups (in Gaza), less control over rocket attacks and an increase in violence against Israel."
<a href="http://s1267.beta.photobucket.com/user/365Wildfire/library/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1267.photobucket.com/albums/jj559/365Wildfire/both_sides_of_gaza_conflict_by_latuff2-1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"/></a>
Hamas: Despite the deaths and destruction in Gaza, the Islamist political movement that rules the territory has emerged emboldened from this conflict
and its truce, according to some observers.
"Hamas has emerged stronger, it has consolidated its control over Gaza and it has gained now more legitimacy," said Aaron David Miller.
In the eyes of many Palestinian people, the militant leaders of Gaza took on Israel more boldly than ever before, firing rockets farther than ever before.
"Look what they accomplished; they, rather than President Mahmoud Abbas, has put the Palestinian issue back on the international stage," says Miller.
Fatah: Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and his Fatah faction that governs the West Bank have lost much in this conflict, commented
CNN's Newton. "He was supposed to be the moderate peace broker who could finally forge a new deal with Israel.
Now he cannot even claim to speak for all Palestinians and has shown that he has no leverage with Hamas, his archrival."
Egypt: President Mohamed Morsy, clearly underestimated, deftly navigated what is a minefield of competing interests, including those of his own country.
"For a civilian president in Egypt perceived as a weak leader, he has, much to everyone's surprise, delivered," said Miller.
Morsy proved he had the leverage necessary to bring Hamas to the table and get its leadership to agree to a cease-fire. Brokering that deal has given him
much needed political capital in both the Arab world and the United States.
Iran: The Islamic republic's nuclear program was one of the unspoken aspects to the conflict, according to world affairs columnist Frida Ghitis. "Iran
and its nuclear program also play a powerful psychological role, as observers and participants ponder the parallels between the latest Israel-Hamas conflict
and a possible war in which Iran would stand against the U.S. or Israel, and perhaps other NATO allies.
"When Israelis see a rocket launched from Gaza, the thought that one day that rocket could carry nuclear materials burns hot in their mind."
But Iran's hand was arguably weakened after this episode as Israel's Iron Dome shot hundreds of its missiles out the sky, CNN's Newton said.
How do the main players in the region now stack up?
Israel: The conflict represents a qualified victory for the country and its Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to CNN's Paula Newton.
"Just months before an election, Netanyahu's government targeted and killed Hamas' military leader, Ahmed al-Jaabari.
Hundreds of airstrikes on Gaza followed, but, the real victory was possibly the combat debut of Iron Dome, the U.S.-funded defense shield that kept
dozens of Hamas rockets from hitting Israeli civilians."
But some analysts questioned whether the death of al-Jaabari really would benefit Israel. Elizabeth O'Bagy believed it was in fact a mistake. "It will lead
to the proliferation of extremist groups (in Gaza), less control over rocket attacks and an increase in violence against Israel."
<a href="http://s1267.beta.photobucket.com/user/365Wildfire/library/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1267.photobucket.com/albums/jj559/365Wildfire/both_sides_of_gaza_conflict_by_latuff2-1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"/></a>
Hamas: Despite the deaths and destruction in Gaza, the Islamist political movement that rules the territory has emerged emboldened from this conflict
and its truce, according to some observers.
"Hamas has emerged stronger, it has consolidated its control over Gaza and it has gained now more legitimacy," said Aaron David Miller.
In the eyes of many Palestinian people, the militant leaders of Gaza took on Israel more boldly than ever before, firing rockets farther than ever before.
"Look what they accomplished; they, rather than President Mahmoud Abbas, has put the Palestinian issue back on the international stage," says Miller.
Fatah: Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and his Fatah faction that governs the West Bank have lost much in this conflict, commented
CNN's Newton. "He was supposed to be the moderate peace broker who could finally forge a new deal with Israel.
Now he cannot even claim to speak for all Palestinians and has shown that he has no leverage with Hamas, his archrival."
Egypt: President Mohamed Morsy, clearly underestimated, deftly navigated what is a minefield of competing interests, including those of his own country.
"For a civilian president in Egypt perceived as a weak leader, he has, much to everyone's surprise, delivered," said Miller.
Morsy proved he had the leverage necessary to bring Hamas to the table and get its leadership to agree to a cease-fire. Brokering that deal has given him
much needed political capital in both the Arab world and the United States.
Iran: The Islamic republic's nuclear program was one of the unspoken aspects to the conflict, according to world affairs columnist Frida Ghitis. "Iran
and its nuclear program also play a powerful psychological role, as observers and participants ponder the parallels between the latest Israel-Hamas conflict
and a possible war in which Iran would stand against the U.S. or Israel, and perhaps other NATO allies.
"When Israelis see a rocket launched from Gaza, the thought that one day that rocket could carry nuclear materials burns hot in their mind."
But Iran's hand was arguably weakened after this episode as Israel's Iron Dome shot hundreds of its missiles out the sky, CNN's Newton said.
