Sep 17, 2024
The New York Times quoted a former commander of the Israeli army’s Gaza Division stating that the Palestinian Resistance Movement Hamas is “winning this war,” which has been ongoing in Gaza since October 7.
Maj. Gen. Gadi Shamni, a former commander of the Israeli military’s Gaza division, was quoted by the paper as saying that “Hamas is winning the war”.
“Our soldiers are winning every tactical encounter with Hamas, but we’re losing the war, and in a big way,” Shamni reportedly added.
The military official further explained that Hamas quickly reasserted control over cities “within 15 minutes” after Israeli forces withdrew.
“There’s no one that can challenge Hamas there after Israeli forces leave,” Shamni said.
The newspaper also cited current and former Israeli security officials who expressed doubt that Hamas could be defeated in this conflict.
Last June, Daniel Hagari, the Israeli military spokesman, told Channel 13 that “Hamas is an idea.”
“Those who think we can make Hamas disappear are wrong,” he said, adding that “the thought that it is possible to destroy Hamas, to make Hamas vanish — that is throwing sand in the eyes of the public.”
The report also noted that Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said last month that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “total victory” is a “nonsense”.
This is not the first time the former Israeli commander expresses his criticism of Israel’s handling of the war on Gaza.
Speaking to Israeli newspaper Maariv last May, Shamni said: “It is difficult to see how all the Israeli detainees will be returned from the Gaza Strip”.
He added that, despite suffering many losses, Hamas will not be “eliminated militarily”.
Ongoing Genocide
Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza.
Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 41,252 Palestinians have been killed, and 95,497 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.
Moreover, at least 11,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.
Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.
Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children.
The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.
Later in the war, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians began moving from the south to central Gaza in a constant search for safety.
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