'Israel' has achieved the maximum it can militarily in Gaza: NYT
6 Min Read
A former Israeli military ombudsman says the war of attrition that has been going on for almost a year "has caused us [Israel] to lose the world."
-
Palestinians displaced by the Israeli air and ground offensive on the Gaza Strip flee from Hamad City, following an evacuation order by the Israeli army to leave parts of the southern area of Khan Younis, Sunday, August 11, 2024. (AP)
Senior American officials believe that "Israel" has achieved the maximum it can militarily in Gaza, with ongoing Israeli airstrikes increasingly endangering civilians while offering limited prospects of further weakening the Hamas movement in the Strip, The New York Times reported.
The newspaper highlighted that as US President Joe Biden's administration intensifies efforts to revive ceasefire talks, a growing number of national security officials assert that while the Israeli military has "severely set back Hamas," it is unlikely to completely eliminate the Palestinian group.
It cited both current and former American and Israeli officials as suggesting that one of "Israel's" key objectives, which is the retrieval of around 115 captives still held in Gaza since October 7, cannot be achieved through military means.
"Israel has been able to disrupt Hamas, kill a number of their leaders and largely reduce the threat to Israel that existed before Oct. 7," indicated Gen. Joseph L. Votel, the former head of US Central Command, in an interview for The Times, claiming that Hamas has been "diminished".
However, Votel noted that the release of the remaining Israeli captives could be secured only through negotiations.
The New York Times said the latest US assessment emerges as Biden administration officials are engaged in diplomatic efforts across the region, seeking to secure a ceasefire agreement and prevent a potential retaliatory strike by Iran and its allies, following recent Israeli assassinations against commanders and leaders.
The Financial Times cited a diplomat familiar with the discussions as saying that the primary challenge lies in whether the US can persuade Israeli occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "to take his wins and back down" from his additional demands.
"Everyone knows what Netanyahu doesn’t want but no one knows what he wants," another informed source indicated.
"One of the messages the officials are expected to deliver is that there is little more Israel can accomplish against Hamas," NYT mentioned.
On Tuesday, US Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III spoke with Israeli Security Minister Yoav Gallant, with the latter reportedly questioning Prime Minister Netanyahu’s objective of a “total victory” over Hamas.
The newspaper said that Austin and other officials in the Biden administration align with Gallant’s stance that a ceasefire deal securing the return of the captives is in "Israel’s" best interest.
“Hamas is largely depleted but not wiped out, and the Israelis may never achieve the total annihilation of Hamas,” Ralph Goff, a former senior CIA official with Middle East experience, told The Times.
Conversely, retired Israeli Major General Yaakov Amidror argued that "Israel" still has strategic gains to make on the ground in Gaza, warning that "if Israel evacuates its forces now, within a year, Hamas will be strong again."
Moreover, US officials indicated that although "Israel" has attempted to damage Hamas' tunnels, it has not succeeded in fully destroying them, noting that while some of the larger tunnel complexes used as command centers have been allegedly neutralized, the network is far more extensive than "Israel" anticipated and continues to provide cover for Hamas leaders and fighters.
Additionally, The New York Times mentioned that current and former Pentagon officials have expressed concerns that "Israel" has yet to demonstrate its ability to fully secure captured areas in Gaza, especially after troop withdrawals.
Despite the destruction inflicted by Israeli strikes and the high number of Palestinian fighters killed, Hamas still retains some military capabilities, the newspaper emphasized.
Ongoing war destroying 'Israel' in several areas
In a related context, former Israeli military Ombudsman, Major General (Res.) Itzhak Brik, warned that the ongoing war of attrition between "Israel", Hamas, and Hezbollah not only fails to collapse the two groups but also exhausts and destroys "Israel" in several areas.
In his article in the Israeli newspaper Maariv, Brik suggested that the collapse of "Israel" is unfolding from within and as a result of external pressures.
He pointed out that Netanyahu had already brought "Israel" to the brink of this collapse even before the outbreak of a potential regional war. Nevertheless, he warned that if a multi-front regional war erupts, it would accelerate the timeline for "Israel’s" collapse.
Touching on the situation of the Israeli military, the former Israeli official revealed that reservists, who are repeatedly called up for duty, are being severely drained because there are no replacements for them, due to the reduction of six brigades over the past 20 years.
Economically, Brik emphasized that the war of attrition that has been going on for almost a year "has caused us [Israel] to lose the world."
He indicated that "Israel" has become isolated, with "even our best friends in European countries are turning their backs on us."
According to the Israeli major general, "Israel’s" isolation is reflected in economic boycotts, arms embargoes imposed by countries like the UK and France, and its exclusion from international ventures.
Moreover, he highlighted that "Israel" is facing a fiscal deficit exceeding 8%, with concerns within the Ministry of Finance that it could reach 9% in 2024, a figure far higher than the government’s target of 6.6%.
Brik further noted that "Israel’s" credit rating is dropping weekly, which, in turn, makes loans to finance the war's enormous costs more expensive.
The former official also stressed that the prolonged war of attrition is damaging many of the drivers behind "Israel’s" economic growth, with high-tech professionals leaving the occupied lands.
In the same vein, he noted that over 100,000 Israelis have been displaced from their settlements, while others are either unemployed or have seen their incomes drastically reduced, all of whom are now not contributing taxes.
In his article, Brik also said that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is inflicting irreversible damage on "Israel", further deepening boycotts and hatred against it.
Elsewhere, he acknowledged that "Israel" has no chance of survival if it continues to be pushed away from the community of what he called "enlightened nations".
Read more: Israeli economy in chaos in anticipation of Iran, Hezbollah responses
