After more than 160 days of the war, Israel has failed to achieve its goal.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue the war until “total victory” over Hamas following the resistance movement’s military operation in southern Israel on October 7.
During the Hamas military operation, more than 1,100 people were killed and roughly 250 were taken captive. Over 100 of them were released in a November deal.
The Hamas raid has been described as a great failure and a security fiasco for Israel.
Since Israel went to war with Gaza following the Hamas attack, the Palestinian resistance has continued to deal serious blows to the regime.
According to the Israeli military, close to 600 Israeli officers and soldiers have been killed. This includes nearly 250 Israeli troops who have lost their lives in ground battles with resistance fighters since October 27.
More than 3,000 Israeli officers and soldiers have also been wounded.
In the wake of Israel’s military failure to eradicate Hamas, the U.S. along with Egypt and Qatar have tried to broker a ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian resistance movement.
Hamas proposal
Hamas has presented a new ceasefire plan to end Israel’s war on Gaza. According to Al Jazeera, the proposal includes the release of Israeli captives in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, 100 of whom are serving life sentences.
The proposal would be implemented in three phases, with each stage lasting 42 days.
In the first stage, Israeli troops must withdraw from al-Rashid and Salah al-Din streets to allow for the return of displaced Palestinians and the passage of aid, according to the Qatari-based news outlet. Salah al-Din is the main arterial road that runs north to south in the strip.
Hamas has said in the second phase a permanent ceasefire must be declared before any exchange of captured soldiers could begin. The resistance movement has also said the third stage would involve initiating a reconstruction process in Gaza and lifting Israel’s siege on the territory.
Rafah invasion
Israel has killed more than 31,000 Palestinians in Gaza over the past months. Currently, the majority of Gaza’s 2.4-million population has fled to Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah to seek refuge from Israel’s brutal attacks. But the regime continues to carry out deadly airstrikes there.
Global concerns are growing over a potential genocide in Rafah if Israel launches a ground offensive in the city.
However, Netanyahu has said Israeli troops will enter Rafah. His regime claims the city is the last major Hamas stronghold.
Israeli military failure
A month ago, the Israeli military’s intelligence acknowledged in a report that Hamas will continue to operate in Gaza even if the regime dismantles its organized military capabilities.
Nonetheless, Netanyahu insists that his regime will be able to defeat Hamas.
Writing an article in Foreign Affairs on March 13, Dennis Ross, a former senior U.S. diplomat specializing in the Middle East, has brought the significance of the report drawn up by the Israeli military’s intelligence to light.
Ross said if Hamas is going to persist in Gaza, Netanyahu must come to terms with the fact that no victory in the territory can be total.
He added, “The starting point for an effective strategy is framing the objective differently. It is time for Israeli leaders to recognize that they will never be able to eradicate or eliminate Hamas.”
On Monday, the U.S. intelligence community also admitted that Israel will fail to destroy Hamas and the regime will face lingering armed resistance from the movement for years to come.
Growing backlash
American officials have intensified criticism of Israel’s war on Gaza amid domestic and international pressure.
President Joe Biden has publicly made critical remarks against Netanyahu’s military campaign in Gaza. However, he has refused to attach conditions to military and political support for Israel.
Chuck Schumer, the top legislator in the U.S. Senate, has also offered his most strident criticism of Israel. He said the Israeli leader has been “too willing to tolerate the civilian toll in Gaza”. Schumer also pushed Israel to hold elections to replace Netanyahu.
Many young Americans, Muslim and Arab voters who helped Bien beat Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election are angry over Washington’s support for Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza.
In the Democratic primaries, particularly on Super Tuesday, a significant number of people, marked their ballots “uncommitted”, which could cost Biden the 2024 election.
Protests have also been regularly held in U.S. and European countries calling for an end to the Gaza war. They have slammed their countries’ leaders for siding with Israel.
Israel has not only failed to bring the Palestinian resistance to its knees in the battleground but it is also suffering a strategic defeat amid international outrage over its war of genocide in Gaza.
Presently, Hamas has offered a new ceasefire proposal because it has the upper hand in the fight against Israel. The resistance movement has turned Netanyahu’s dream of total victory into abject failure.
If Israel does not accept the truce deal, it will have to pay a higher price for its warmongering policies.
First published by Tehran Times
