'Israel' failed to achieve any of its goals in the Gaza Strip: NYT

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: The New York Times
21 Jan 2024 01:14
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The Israeli military questions the authenticity of the NYT report, which cites Israeli commanders who have complained about the IOF's failures in the Gaza Strip.

An Israeli Merkava tank moves near the separation border between the Gaza Strip and occupied Palestinian territories, on January 17, 2024. (AP)

The Israeli occupation's military has rejected claims made by The New York Times on Saturday, contradicting its own assessment that the situation in Gaza is, in fact, worse than initially expected.

The New York Times reported on Saturday that doubts have been raised by the occupation military's high command regarding the feasibility of their objectives in Gaza, particularly in light of the limited progress in their proclaimed objective of "uprooting" Hamas from the Gaza Strip.

According to the report, "Israel" was unable to meet its goals of occupying large areas of the Gaza Strip and has had to settle for less than it had originally planned, which raised concerns among some commanders regarding the effectiveness of the Israeli war cabinet's strategy.

The slow pace of the operation has led to private expressions of frustration among some Israeli commanders, according to NYT. The report suggests that some commanders are contemplating prioritizing the retrieval of Israeli captives held by the Palestinian Resistance, at the cost of backing away from the political command's goal of "dismantling" the Palestinian Resistance.

The Resistance's expansive tunnel network has proven to be an intricate maze, filled with booby traps that have cost Israeli special forces heavy losses since the ground invasion into the Gaza Strip was initiated. In fact, the Resistance's tunnels have been the main focus of the occupation's military, as they are regarded to be essential strategic infrastructure to the Palestinian Resistance's work.

Despite the lofty goal of destroying the tunnel network, the Israeli military has not succeeded. Brigade after brigade attempted to crack the puzzle but failed. This includes multiple Combat Engineering Brigades and the Yahalom Special Comabt Engineering Unit, whose ranks have been substantially reduced.

NYT also points to a reality that has contradicted the occupation's timeframe. Essentially, the IOF had expected to take "full control" of major cities in the Gaza Strip, such as Gaza City, Khan Younis, and Rafah by late December. According to the report, "Israel" is yet to even launch a ground invasion into Rafah, while it faces mounting difficulties in Khan Younis.

Moreover, the occupation has also failed to "eliminate" many of the Resistance leaders that it had vowed to kill, including Yahya al-Sinwar, Mohammad Deif, Marwan Issa, and others.

The Israeli military command responded to the testimonies of several commanders given to NYT by saying that the sources were "not known" to the military and "do not reflect" its position.