ANDREW NEIL: Time’s up, Netanyahu! He failed to stop October 7 slaughter. He STILL can’t beat Hamas. And now Gaza innocents and aid workers’ blood is on his hands. Any friend of Israel MUST force him out

This week marked a turning point in international support for Israel in its brutal war against Hamas.

It had been ebbing for some time, when the barbaric atrocities of Hamas’s invasion last October were replaced in the public mind by the much larger and steadily rising civilian death toll in Gaza as a result of Israeli military retaliation.

But the killing of seven aid workers delivering desperately needed food to Palestinians by an Israeli drone strike has hardened opinion against Israel.

Israel’s friends are desperate.

What was increasingly difficult to defend has now become virtually impossible to justify.

Israel’s many enemies take smug satisfaction from watching Israel’s global reputation in tatters. The Jewish state could be unbeatable on the battlefield. But in the propaganda war for public opinion, defeat is now being looked in the face.

Even before Monday’s attack, recent polls showed that more than half of Americans disapproved of Israel’s military action in Gaza.

Democratic voters became increasingly sympathetic and even supportive of the Palestinians.

The Biden administration, from the president on, had begun to publicly express its frustration with the government of Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s hardline and unpopular prime minister.

Even Donald Trump told reporters last week that Israel was losing public support for the attack on Gaza, that the resulting images of destruction were bad for Israel’s global image and that Netanyahu should end his war soon. The Israeli government, and especially Netanyahu, who had always been assured of Trump’s steadfast support, was shocked.

All this was bad enough. But since Monday, Israel’s global position has fallen further.

Six of the seven aid workers killed by Israeli missiles in their three-vehicle convoy were from close allies of Israel such as America, Britain and Australia.

The charity they worked for, World Central Kitchen (WCK), was founded by a well-known chef, José Andrés, with restaurants in Washington and ties to the Biden administration, including the president. In terms of perception, things couldn’t be worse for Israelis.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) claims it was a ‘misidentification’ – that the attack was not intentional.

But the idea that it was a freak accident involving hoax rockets will be a hard sell, even to Israel’s friends.

The IDF has acknowledged that it is working closely with WCK. The convoy was well marked with the WCK frying pan logo. The route along the Gaza coast road had been cleared together with the IDF. The British ex-armed forces providing security had established a GPS signal that could direct the convoy to the IDF.

The attack was not a hasty, terrible but understandable mistake in the fog of war. The IDF drone took out one car with a missile, waited, took out another, waited again and then destroyed the third car in which the aid workers had piled up, killing all seven.

Anger among Israel’s allies has since simmered to a boiling point.

Israel’s ambassador to Britain was summoned to the Foreign Office in London for a rare fancy dress party.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak immediately called Netanyahu to say he was “shocked” by the attack. There is growing British support for an arms embargo on Israel. Opinions have soured noticeably throughout Europe.

The same goes in America. Biden realizes this and that is why he says he is “outraged and heartbroken” by Monday’s tragedy.

Today he finally managed to call Netanyahu himself. We’re told the president has spoken strongly. Monday’s strike was ‘unacceptable’, as was the general humanitarian situation. Israel needs to announce some (unspecified) measures to improve things.

Henceforth, U.S. policy “with regard to Gaza will be determined by (America’s) assessment of Israel’s immediate action on these steps.” An immediate ceasefire was ‘essential’.

And that was about it. Whether Israel will ever have to deal with it factual consequences from America, the only ally the country really cares about, are unlikely. The Biden administration has a long track record of talking tough and doing nothing — “rinse and repeat,” as one administration official privately put it this week.

There is nothing anti-Israel – let alone anti-Semitic – about cracking down on the Netanyahu government. The Israeli people feel the same way. Only 32 percent of Israelis approve of Netanyahu’s behavior since October 7. In many eyes, the killing and destruction that followed in the aftermath of that fateful day outweighs the original atrocity.

Six months later, Hamas is bloodied, but not bowed. The war drags on, entrenching misery in all aspects of life in Gaza, while 134 hostages remain in terrible captivity.

Yes, the claim that more than 30,000 Palestinians lost their lives in Israeli retaliation is a Hamas propaganda trope, too easily repeated without question by the liberal Western media, and includes thousands of deaths among Hamas fighters.

But you don’t have to accept Hamas’s lies to accept that thousands of civilians in Gaza have lost their lives in appalling conditions, many of them women and children. Or to wonder whether the IDF is as meticulous and wants to avoid civilian casualties as is often claimed.

Of course, Hamas is out of the spotlight. But it is an evil, depraved death cult. Israel is a civilized, progressive democracy. Hamas cannot be the standard by which Israel judges itself. It’s better than that. Much better. Or should be.

However, the worst may yet come. If Israel makes its long-awaited incursion into Rafah in southern Gaza — where what remains of the Hamas leadership appears to have gathered along with hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who have fled the conflict in the north — a humanitarian catastrophe is likely to occur. unimaginable proportions.

Israel’s reputation, already in trouble in so many eyes, may never recover. It is one of the reasons why internal divisions in Israel are increasing again.

Mass demonstrations against Netanyahu and his government, which took place last summer but stopped after October 7, are being organized again.

The hostages’ families join in. Netanyahu is kept in power by some far-right politicians in Israeli politics. If just five defected, his government would collapse, forcing an election, which a majority of Israelis now want this fall (an election doesn’t have to take place until 2026).

If Israelis themselves are critical of their government in these difficult times, there is no reason why Israel’s friends and allies shouldn’t be too. Unconditional support is the last thing it needs under the current circumstances.

Under Netanyahu’s watch, the country was clearly ill-prepared for the Hamas invasion. He has led a retaliatory campaign that has not produced sufficient results after six months but is increasingly alienating Israel’s allies.

He is planning another attack that will likely cause even more massive loss of life – but still not necessarily wipe out Hamas. And he stands in the way of broader regional adjustment, which Arab allies still want to help secure.

Israel deserves support in its current situation. She has been deeply wronged and has every right to be robust in the face of implacable enemies whose sole purpose is to destroy her. You can’t negotiate with such people.

But support for Israel does not necessarily mean support for the current government. The Israeli people and their global allies must agree on this.

Monday’s atrocity could yet push opinion inside and outside the country in that direction.