The Israel-Hamas war again shows that we need to stop thinking there are military solutions to political problems | Paul Rogers

Just as in Afghanistan and Iraq, using intense force against paramilitaries is not working. Once more it will have disastrous consequences

• Paul Rogers is emeritus professor of peace studies at Bradford University

At the start of the second month of the Gaza war, two questions emerge: what kind of conflict are we witnessing and how long will it last? These questions force us to consider longer trends in modern warfare, linked not just to the post-9/11 wars on terror" but to a more global security paradigm that is about maintaining control, rather than addressing the underlying causes of revolt.

In the immediate aftermath of Hamas's 7 October assault, Benjamin Netanyahu talked of crushing the organisation so that it could never again threaten Israel. It was eerily similar to George W Bush's declaration against al-Qaida and the Taliban after 9/11, which had dire consequences, especially for Afghanistan and Iraq.