The Israeli military has proven itself totally incapable of achieving success in Gaza, and its latest military operation proves this without a shadow of a doubt. 

On March 18, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched a surprise campaign of airstrikes against the Gaza Strip, which would kill hundreds of civilians over the course of the following few days. The declaration was also issued by the Zionist regime’s premier; he was breaking the ceasefire.

Netanyahu then issued a statement on the issue in which he claimed that his army had “resumed combat in full force," threatening that the deadly airstrikes against densely populated civilian areas are “just the beginning."

From that point on, for weeks, Israeli military and political figures warned of a looming ground invasion, asserting that it would be the final blow and “destroy Hamas”. Threat after threat came, yet the only thing that continued to materialize was airstrikes that targeted civilians.

On May 4, the Israeli cabinet officially approved a renewed ground operation in Gaza. What it proceeded to do was simply issue threats, while its bombardment of civilian infrastructure continued and the Israeli media fantasized about all of the potential strategies that were going to be implemented in what they started labelling “phase 2” of the war.

It wasn’t until May 16, after an escalation in the scale of its daily massacres, that the Zionist military would finally announce they had started the operation. During the course of the deadly air campaign, I estimated that three main components of this so-called “phase 2” would develop within the span of the following few days. 

It panned out exactly as I assumed it would: First, an intensified series of raids against civilian targets. This would be followed by an announcement of a ridiculous-sounding name to the operation - I said Pigeons Chariots as a joke (it turned out to be Gideon’s Chariots) - which would make the Israeli public feel good about themselves and provide more content for Israeli media hype. Finally, small and meaningless incursions into zones surrounding the built-up [now almost entirely destroyed] areas in order to claim the ground operation was in full swing.

Nearly a month later, the Israeli military finally began actually running incursions into the built-up areas in northern Gaza and Khan Younis, yet each time they advanced, they were almost immediately falling into complex ambushes. Their casualties were high, and the Israeli military censor was employed to hide losses.

The Zionist regime’s troop numbers in Gaza are a fraction of what they had mustered prior to the ceasefire that was implemented in January. Report after report claimed that anywhere from 20,000 to 60,000 reservists had been called upon to serve in the Gaza Strip. It is difficult to know how many additional reserve soldiers actually showed up, as even the claims about how many had been recalled appeared to be jumping all over the place.

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Despite having destroyed the large majority of Gaza’s civilian infrastructure, also having entered most areas throughout the besieged coastal territory during the course of the war, there is no built part of the Gaza Strip that the Israelis have gained operational control over. Even in the so-called buffer zone, occasional ambushes occur and take out some of their soldiers.

It has been clear from the beginning of the so-called “Operation Gideon’s Chariots” that there is no real plan behind it; it is simply an exercise in committing genocide while doing more of the same as their forces did during “phase one” of the Gaza war. Except now, their soldiers are fatigued, less well-equipped, many of them refuse to show up for duty, and there is a general sense of a loss of morale, according to Israeli media leaks.

The former Chief of Staff for the Zionist entity’s armed forces, Mosh Ya’alon, even said the following about the ongoing operation:

“Throughout my years of service and participation in cabinet discussions, I do not recall a single instance in which the cabinet approved a military operation without a prior determination of its objective, or, to put it another way, the expected "end." We are waging the longest war in our history without a clear objective for the operation, other than the illusory slogan of "complete victory," which translates into an eternal political war.”

As each day passes, the Israeli regime appears to be attempting everything it can come up with to try and stir as much chaos and desperately chase the image of victory. Netanyahu still claims he is seeking a total victory in his “seven-front war” but has little to show for it. 

In fact, he is essentially back in the same position he found himself one year ago from now, bogged down in a losing war and waging genocide in the hope that maybe victory will fall from the sky.

The tactical victories that the Israelis managed to score in Lebanon with their terrorist pager attack and assassinations of the Hezbollah senior leadership have since faded. They also clearly played their main cards in Lebanon and lost all of the advantages they had spent years working to develop.

Desperate bombing attacks in the Southern Suburb of Beirut affect nothing on the ground. In fact, what they have done since the ceasefire, committing over 3,000 violations and continuing to occupy territory in the south, only proves why Lebanon needs an armed resistance in order to protect the country. 

Meanwhile, the collapse of the Syrian government may have served as a blow, but even with their illegal invasion and occupation of southern Syrian territory, there is no clear endgame for the Zionists. Meanwhile, the space still exists for a grassroots resistance to slowly build itself. Although the situation there is unpredictable, it does not necessarily favour the Israelis in the long run.

It appears as if the wheels have fallen off the “Gideon’s Chariots” operation in Gaza also, which leaves the Israelis with one real option for escalation, desperately chasing “total victory”, an attack on Iran. Yet this option could involve costs that out way any potential benefits.

Afraid to fight, desperately backing Daesh-linked gangsters and using food as a weapon of war against a tormented civilian population, the Israelis are stuck and incapable of navigating a path toward victory. If the Zionist regime ends the conflict now, it is an admission of defeat and will topple the Netanyahu coalition; if it continues on its current trajectory, this war could prove fatal.