Unbound and defiant

Palestinians, many on foot, fleeing Gaza City. With the assault on Gaza City, Israel’s prime minister Netanyahu has piled defiance on defiance, as any check from the US Trump administration falls away. — Saher Alghorra/The New York Times

BEFORE the war in the Gaza Strip began almost two years ago, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was not known as a risk taker. His rhetoric was bold; his actions less so.

Now, by sending the Israeli military deep into Gaza City, he has dispensed with constraints.