Gaza: Prolonged and Inconclusive war

Israeli army officials have become increasingly exasperated with the prolonged and inconclusive war against Gaza over last eleven months. Their frustration is being compounded due to the mounting casualties of Israeli soldiers. 

The Gaza war may ultimately come to an end but the complicity of Western countries in Israel’s carnage in the Palestinian territory will never slide into oblivion.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched the war on Gaza on October 07, 2023 after Hamas carried out the Al-Aqsa Storm, a surprise military operation in southern Israel. More than 1,100 people were killed during the operation and about 250 others were taken captive. 

Netanyahu has repeatedly vowed to continue the war until achieving “total victory” over Hamas and “destroying” the Palestinian resistance movement. 

Despite receiving large amounts of weapons from Western countries, in particular the United States, the Netanyahu regime has failed to make good on its promise.  

Israel’s failures on the Gaza battlefield once again came to the fore after an army general acknowledged the regime’s inability to defeat Hamas. 

“For almost a year now, we have not been able to fully defeat even our smallest enemy,” Major General Israel Ziv told Israel’s Maariv news site.

Ziv, who previously headed the Israeli military’s operations directorate, added that there are still 20,000 Hamas fighters regrouping in Gaza.”

He admitted that Israel will not be able to get involved in a broad war with Iran and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, citing the regime’s inability to defeat Hamas. 

“Israel certainly cannot take on the task of fighting everyone when it can’t even close the simplest front,” he said.

Ziv’s statements echo a speech delivered by war minister Yoav Gallant earlier this month. 

Speaking during a closed-door hearing before a Knesset committee on August 12, Gallant dismissed Netanyahu’s “total victory” slogan as “nonsense” and “gibberish”.  

Gallant also said Netanyahu’s “total victory” goal amounts to a “beating of war drums” not backed up by actions.

On June 19, the Israeli military spokesman also disputed Netanyahu’s war aim of defeating Hamas. 

“The idea that it is possible to destroy Hamas, to make Hamas vanish — that is throwing sand in the eyes of the public,” Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari told Israel’s Channel 13. He added, “Hamas is an idea, deeply rooted in the hearts of the residents of Gaza”.

Netanyahu has been accused of derailing talks aimed at ending the Gaza war to keep himself in power. The premier believes that a permanent state of war will help him avoid accountability for failing to prevent the Al-Aqsa Storm. However, he remains under fire for failing to secure the release of the remaining captives in Gaza.

More than 100 of those who were taken captive on October 07 were freed following a swap deal with Hamas in November last year. Dozens still remain in Gaza. Dozens of others have lost their lives during Israeli strikes on the territory. 

Besides, the Gaza war has taken a heavy toll on the Israeli military which has put immense pressure on Netanyahu.  

According to Israeli media, more than 700 Israeli troops have died since October 07.

Despite Israel’s claims of dismantling Hamas, the group’s attacks still claim the lives of the regime’s soldiers on the battlefield. 

The Israeli army continues to strike residential buildings, schools and hospitals in Gaza under the pretext of targeting Hamas fighters in a bid to distract attention away from its failures. 

About 40,500 Palestinians including more than 16,000 children have been killed in Gaza since the start of the Gaza onslaught. 

Unfortunately, the United States and some of its Western allies continue to feed Israel’s war machine despite the rising civilian death toll.