Israel reaches ‘end of line’ in Gaza, will ‘never eliminate’ Hamas: US officials
US and Israeli officials have once again conceded the occupying regime’s failure in its months-long aggression on the besieged Gaza Strip, stressing that the possibility of defeating the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas has notably decreased.
The New York Times quoted unnamed American and Israeli officials as saying in a report on Thursday that “the possibilities of weakening Hamas have diminished further,” and “the hostages held in Gaza cannot be recovered by military means.”
US officials indicated that Israel has achieved everything that it could militarily in Gaza, and that continued bombings are only increasing risks to Palestinian civilians. They asserted that Israel has “reached the end of the line” in the battlefield.
The officials acknowledged that while Hamas had been set back to some extent in Gaza, the Israeli military “would never be able to completely eliminate the group.”
Underlining that “Israel tried to harm the tunnel network in Gaza but failed to destroy it,” the officials said, “The tunnel network proved to be larger than Israel expected, and is an effective means for Hamas.”
The American paper quoted the Pentagon officials as saying, “Israel has not yet proven its ability to secure the areas under its control in Gaza,” and diplomacy is the only way that will enable Israel to return the captives.
The Israeli occupation army has on several occasions acknowledged the impossibility of achieving the main goal of its brutal war on Gaza, which is to “destroy” Hamas, stressing that the resistance movement is an “idea” that cannot be destroyed.
“Talking about destroying Hamas is like throwing ashes in the eyes of the public, because it is implanted in the hearts of the people,” Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said in an interview with the Hebrew-language Channel 13 in June.
Criticizing the occupation’s political leaders calling for the elimination of the resistance movement, Hagari added, “Hamas is an idea, and you cannot destroy an idea. The political level must find an alternative to it, otherwise it will remain.”
The Israeli regime’s ministry for military affairs says more than 10,000 of the regime’s forces have been afflicted with either physical or mental trauma during the Gaza war.
The Israeli military spokesman stressed that the occupation “is paying a heavy price in the war, but we cannot remain silent,” noting that “not all prisoners can be returned by military means.”
Israel launched the aggression after Operation al-Aqsa Storm, a retaliatory operation staged by the Gaza-based resistance groups in reprisal for the regime’s decades-long crimes against Palestinians. The surprise foray left some 1,200 Israelis dead and 250 others in captivity, among whom more than 60 were killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza.
The US-backed bloody onslaught has so far killed nearly 40,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured 92,294 others. Thousands more are also missing and presumed dead under rubble.
Hamas has repeatedly said it would release the remaining captives in exchange for complete cessation of the Israeli aggression and the regime’s full withdrawal. It has also conditioned their release on the return of the displaced people, an end to the siege that has been imposed by Tel Aviv on Gaza.
