> The question is whether the current Israeli government rationally believes it will improve its overall security position in conducting the operation in the way it is doing (the usual intended outcome of a "war").
That's a fair question and criticism. I am one of the many Israelis furious at the government for exactly this reason - we believe Netanyahu, in particular, cares more about his own political survival, than about the actual security of Israel. And while I do think the current war is in some ways making Israel more secure (by weakening Hamas), it's also weakening Israel in some ways, and that's not even getting into the question of whether it's worth it "morally" speaking at this point (in my estimation, no).
It's still a war though. And let me push back and say that if you think most wars are fought to purely to improve security and not for other reasons, including political reasons, you're very mistaken.
> Or whether it has other goals in mind. As its numerous (quite nauseating) statements about the long-term fate it in has in mind for both the territory in question and the "animals" who inhabit it consistently indicate:
For sure some extremist Israelis have these other goals. They are luckily a small minority of Israelis, but they unfortunately wield outsized political power because the actual #1 goal of Netanyahu is just to remain in power, and they help him do that.
It is not the goal of the government nor of the majority of Israelis, who oppose this.
Also, while there have certainly been bad statements made towards Palestinians, especially in the aftermath of October 7th, it's not like any Israelis routinely go around calling Palestinians "animals", despite your implying it.
Look, your criticisms of the government are right IMO, and are shared by many Israelis, hence the numerous protests and calls for Netanyahu to resign.
That said, none of that means that your initial statement was correct; this is a war, not a massacre. The IDF isn't going around targeting Palestinian civilians, at least not in general (I'm sure many individual cases of wrongdoing have happened, sad to say). The IDF is targeting militants, and engaging in daily fights with militants, in which civilians get hurt, for many reasons, but this situation isn't very different than many other battles that have taken place in urban territory.
It's terrible, and maybe the war is not justified at this point (and you might think it was never justified, though I disagree with that). But it is a war, and saying otherwise is both wrong, and will make almost anyone on the "other side" of this issue refuse to engage with you.