Collapse of resistance impossible
Collapse of resistance impossible
TEHRAN- A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has more than ever exposed the regime’s vulnerability in the face of unprecedented Palestinian resistance.
The truce agreement that was agreed on Wednesday night is set to be implemented in three phases. The deal will pave the way for the release of the remaining captives held in Gaza and the return of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. It should also result in the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip.
Soon after Israel launched war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, initiatives were promptly undertaken to end the conflict.
But Israel and its main Western ally, the United States, spun a variety of tales to nip all ceasefire efforts in the bud.
Benny Gantz: Netanyahu's promise for “total victory” against Hamas is “empty”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had consistently vowed to continue the war until “destroying” Hamas through achieving “absolute victory” over the resistance movement and returning all captives.
The United States also vetoed several resolutions at the United Nations Security Council that were aimed at establishing a ceasefire in Gaza.
The administration of President Joe Biden further threw its full military weight behind Israel. From October 2023 to October 2024, Washington spent a record $17.9 billion on military assistance to Israel, according to a report for Brown University’s Costs of War project.
Yoav Gallant: Netanyahu’s “absolute victory” slogan is “gibberish”
Earlier this month, American officials said the State Department informed Congress of a planned $8 billion weapons sale to Israel.
In addition to the US, European countries such as Britain, Germany and Farnce have backed Israel despite the crimes that it has committed in Gaza.
Nonetheless, Israel’s military ambitions have fallen flat more than 15 months after waging genocidal war on Gaza which has claimed the lives of nearly 47,000 Palestinians.
Now, the ceasefire clearly indicates that Netanyahu’s dream of victory over Hamas was just a flight of fantasy.
Avigdor Lieberman: “Instead of complete victory, we received complete humiliation”
The Israeli Institute for National Security Studies admitted on Friday that the regime acquiesced to the ceasefire deal out of desperation.
“The implications of the agreement are clear: Israel will not bring about the “collapse” of Hamas because it has never been able to do so,” according to INSS.
The Israeli think tank added that Netanyahu prolonged the Gaza war for “personal survival and short-sightedness”, which “has cost the lives of more Israelis soldiers and more captives”.
The Israeli institute noted that troops “have been worn down by missions that had no impact on the outcome of the war, while Israel's international standing has been eroded to the core”.
“None of these actions changed the fundamental reality and will only amplify the effect of Hamas's revival,” it pointed out.
Over the course of the Gaza war, Israeli officials conceded that the regime would be unable to subdue Hamas.
Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari: “The idea that it is possible to destroy Hamas, to make Hamas vanish — that is throwing sand in the eyes of the public”
Former war minister Yoav Gallant, who was dismissed by Netanyahu, told the Knesset members in August 2024 that the premier’s “absolute victory” slogan is “nonsense” and “gibberish”.
In June last year, the Israeli military spokesman also challenged Netanyahu’s war aim.
“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 Israeli media.
He added, “Hamas is an idea, deeply rooted in the hearts of the residents of Gaza.”
In the same month, former war minister Avigdor Lieberman also signaled that Netanyahu has been left with egg on his face.
“Exactly eight months since the Oct. 7 attack, eight months in which instead of ‘complete victory’, we received complete humiliation,” said Lieberman, a Knesset member and the leader of Yisrael Beytenu party.
Yair Lapid: Israel’s military strategy in Gaza is “a failure”
In June 2024, National Unity chairman Benny Gantz described Netanyahu's promise of “total victory” against Hamas as “empty”.
Gantz was a former war cabinet minister, who quit the emergency coalition in a sign of deepening divisions over Netanyahu's post-conflict plans for Gaza.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid also called Israel’s military strategy in Gaza “a failure”.
Likewise, in mid-February last year, a document drawn up by the Israeli military’s intelligence acknowledged that even if Israel dismantled Hamas’s organized military capabilities, the resistance group would continue to operate in Gaza.
Furthermore, Israel’s failure to achieve its military goals in the Gaza war and its inability to prevent the Al-Aqsa Storm led to a wave of resignations among senior military and security officials.
The Al-Aqsa Storm is the surprise military operation that Hamas carried out in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which was followed by Israel’s brutal war on Gaza.
More than 1,100 people were killed in the Hamas operation and about 250 others were taken captive. Dozens of the captives are still held in Gaza who are set to be exchanged for Palestinian prisoners during the ceasefire.
Israel’s decades-long heinous crimes against Palestinians let the genie out of the bottle on October 7 which is still haunting Israeli leaders. The ceasefire will fail to put the toothpaste back in the tube and stop the tide of resistance.
Presently, Israel regards the truce agreement as a tactic to obscure the regime’s military failures and distract from rising resentment against its war crimes and crimes against humanity.
source: tehrantimes.com