How Hamas’ Surprise Attack on Israel Affects American and Israeli Politics

Hamas launched an attack on Israel on Saturday, drawing a variety of media perspectives across the spectrum.

President Biden: An analysis from CNN (Lean Left bias) highlighted how complicated the situation is domestically and geopolitically for the Biden administration. CNN pointed to strained relations between Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a fractured political situation in Palestine, and a stalled normalization agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia as complications. Domestically, CNN highlighted that Biden’s recent funds-for-prisoners trade with Iran has become political ammo for Republicans.

Israel Underprepared: An opinion for UnHerd (Center bias) called Hamas’ surprise attack “Israel’s biggest intelligence failure in half a century.” It said despite Israel’s blockading of Gaza, and high-tech border reinforcements, Hamas’ ability to carry out a sophisticated attack suggests Netanyahu’s disposition towards the ongoing conflict should be questioned. The opinion also said how far-right Netanyahu’s administration has become could set its response apart from prior conflicts.

Major Shift: An opinion for National Review (Right bias) said Hamas’ attack “changes everything,” citing Netanyahu’s popularity, Israeli domestic politics, and U.S. Republican political strategy as key matters. The opinion said the Republicans’ tendency to note the role of Iran in funding Hamas is “healthy,” and highlighted the Biden administration’s lack of follow-through on U.S. oil sanctions on Iran. It also said it’s “unhealthy” to suggest U.S. support for Ukraine will inhibit its abilities to help Israel, and that Democrats and Republicans should stand together behind American allies.