So Who Won? Best Analyses From Haaretz on the Day After Protective Edge

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may be one of the only Israelis who believe Israel won the war with Hamas, Amir Oren writes – if the prime minister does in fact believe his own statements, that is.

• Poll: Israel Didn't Win Gaza War
• Cease-fire Holds, but Residents Hold Out on Return
• Celebrating 'Victory' After Gaza War Is Repellent
• Questions for Hamas

Whatever the prime minister thinks, he ought to be turning toward buffing up his domestic image to combat the nosedive he has taken in the polls, Yossi Verter recommends.

On the opposite side of the border, meanwhile, Hamas is trying to sell its own claim of victory to Gazans, explains Amira Hass. And the Palestinians did effectively win recognition that Hamas and other militant groups are an inseparable part of the Palestinian polity, writes Zvi Bar'el.

What will Israel get out of this cease-fire, then?

That wasn't actually the primary concern for Netanyahu, who was so eager to get out of Gaza he was willing to agree to just about anything, says Barak Ravid – even an agreement that suddenly made U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's proposal look like the deal of the year.

So everybody's spinning this war, but who really won?

The sense is that the 50-day war did not end in victory or defeat for anyone, argues Amos Harel, but in a rather doleful tie.