Triple trouble for Israel as its furious allies bail

Netanyahu has a lethal addiction to crises.

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You might think it would be impossible for the inferno in Israel and Gaza to burn hotter. Yet Mr Benjamin Netanyahu is fuelling three parallel emergencies: a humanitarian one in Gaza, a torching of support among European allies and a constitutional crisis over who controls the security services, army, and courts.

The pressure on Israel and its institutions is almost unbearable, and a culminating moment is probably imminent. But whether that comes in the form of a re-invasion of Gaza which finally ruptures Israel's alliances and fractures its armed forces and society, or through a U-turn or ceasefire that triggers the Prime Minister's political demise, remains dangerously unclear.

Start with Gaza, where the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) are poised to launch the main phase of a devastating new campaign. They control around a third of the strip and strikes are inflicting a daily toll: 30 Gazans were killed on May 25, according to the Hamas-run authorities. Under the plan, the IDF would retake 75 per cent of it, pushing two million people into zones with 25 per cent of the land. The goal is to eradicate Hamas once and for all.

The probable outcome is a further humanitarian catastrophe. To counter that charge, Israel's government says it can get aid to Gazans without giving Hamas tacit control of it. On May 26, Israel launched a distribution network, using "hubs" to hand out weekly rations. The next day, thousands of hungry people mobbed the area and work was suspended. Aid groups say the plan is woefully insufficient. Mr Jake Wood, the head of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which runs the network, has just resigned, citing the principles of "humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence".