Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Lebanese Health Ministry: 1 woman martyred, 11 wounded in Israeli strike on residential apartment in Nabatieh, South Lebanon.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Four civilians injured in Israeli strike that targeted house in Nabatieh al-Fawqa, South Lebanon.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in South Lebanon: Israeli warplanes launch strikes on regions of al-Mahmoudiyah, al-Khardali
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in South Lebanon: Israeli aircraft execute series of strikes in Kfar Tibnit, South Lebanon.
Iranian ambassador in Beijing to Al Mayadeen: We hope that Europe and the US give up their illegal actions and authoritarian hegemony.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Israeli shelling targets displaced persons' tent in Al-Mawasi, Khan Younis, casualties were reported
IOF storm Jalazone camp, north of Al Bireh city in the occupied West Bank
Israeli media: A severe incident reported in Gaza some time ago
Israeli media: Military evacuation helicopters are transporting injured soldiers from Khan Younis
Israeli media: A security incident has been reported in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip

'Israel' unable to eliminate Hamas, will have to withdraw: Reports

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Israeli Media
  • 22 Dec 2023 22:41
  • 23 Shares
5 Min Read

An Israeli journalist says the Israeli occupation forces will not be able to eliminate Hamas and are likely to have to withdraw before their objectives are completed.

  • x
  • 'Israel' unable to eliminate Hamas, will have to withdraw: Reports
    A screengrab from a video published by the Al-Qassam Brigades Military Media depicting the aftermath of a hit with an ATGM on an unarmored Israeli jeep in Gaza in December 2023 (Military Media)

The Israeli occupation forces may have to leave the Gaza Strip before their chief military goal, the complete elimination of the Hamas Resistance movement is achieved, the Israeli Ynet website said.

Israeli journalist and political and military affairs analyst Ronen Bergman wrote that he spoke with a senior government official on the condition of anonymity, with the latter going on a rant about the Israeli occupation's invasion of the Gaza Strip.

The official said he feels nauseous and disgusted after every talk he has with several officials from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, namely due to the instructions he receives regarding the ongoing invasion, whose goals the official said were the "destruction of the infrastructure, capabilities, and rule of Hamas", as well as the release of all the captives.

The invasion, the official said, was launched in a bid to pressure Hamas' leader in the Gaza Strip, Yahya al-Sinwar, to reach a prisoner swap deal and release the captives.

Reportedly, despite the many setbacks and failures, Israeli officials insist that the ground invasion should continue "both to achieve the first goal, the dismantling of the [Resistance] organizations, and also the second: to put enough pressure on al-Sinwar for him to capitulate and agree to a deal that Israel can accept."

The Israeli journalist argued that this is reminiscent of the situation before the 2006 war on Lebanon, wherein they had claimed in the days before the aggression that they had enough firepower to completely disable and destroy Hezbollah's capabilities to attack Israeli targets. 

The Israelis claimed that Hezbollah only had a few Katyushas and could not get to the Israeli occupation forces. In reality, he said, it turned out that there were Katyushas and much, much more.

"It is not about hindsight or a conclusion that one could only reach after the fact," he said, saying the media warned ahead of the invasion of Gaza against misleading the Israelis about the ease of conducting the land aggression.

He stressed that whoever planned for the Israeli occupation to maintain a presence in Gaza lacked intellect and general information about such events that had taken place previously either with the Israeli occupation or elsewhere around the world.

According to Bergman, the world will not allow the Israeli occupation to stay in Gaza; the international pressure, he said, accompanied by the number of soldiers killed in action "from a faltering army" at the hands of the Resistance fighters who managed to regroup "will oblige the Israeli forces to withdraw much, much earlier."

The military affairs expert did not at all shy away from saying that the Israeli occupation forces were likely to end their first round of armed combat without achieving the first goal of their aggression on Gaza.

Related News

Republican Rep. wants Zohran Mamdani deported

US to lift trade restrictions on China following new bilateral deal

He said the IOF would likely withdraw without completely destroying the Palestinian Resistance's rocket capabilities and significantly damaging its tunnel network.

Bergman noted that it had been clear since the beginning that the Israeli occupation forces would not be able to return their captives through the force of arms.

The Israeli occupation was senselessly bombing Gaza for nine days before Netanyahu's cabinet, and under immense public pressure, added the matter of bringing back the captives to the goals of the aggression. 

Israeli officials have been for months saying that a ground operation would help in the effort of taking back the captives. However, "the experience from weeks of fighting proves that the ground maneuver serving as an accelerator for the release of the captives [...] was not quite accurate."

He also touched on how many Israeli captives, upon their return, censured the Israeli government for how the indiscriminate bombardment endangered their lives.

The analyst claimed that al-Sinwar was expected to "fold" during the fighting in Khan Yunis, "when the sword was on his neck", and agree to terms he previously rejected. However, the complete opposite happened with the Israeli occupation forces exhausting their invasion when they were still far from the area.

"Israel folded, abandoned the original outline, and is ready for a completely different deal, perhaps like the one it rightfully refused [previously]," he added, about a prisoner exchange deal propped up by Hamas earlier.

In the conclusion, Bergman underlined that while the Israeli occupation managed to hurt the Hamas Resistance movement, it is still very far from eliminating it.

Some, he says, believe that the Israeli occupation may suddenly be interested in reaching a deal because its aggression might have to stop within two weeks due to pressure from the United States.

"Even the hawkish linemen in the security establishment should not oppose the deal; quite the contrary: a deal would be an optimistic end act to the war, much more pleasant than if the Americans simply told Israel to stop and withdraw," he maintained.

Upon asking the senior Israeli official what the game plan was now, he said that the terrible blow dealt by the Resistance on October 7 created a feeling of a need for revenge to the magnitude of what happened. 

The shock generated by the Resistance and the terrible need for revenge among the Israeli officials made them feel like they did not need to plan ahead and that this was something they were inoculated against.

The Israeli occupation, the official said, only has two choices at this point, and while he did not go into what they are exactly, he said they were "cruel" and "devilish".

  • United States
  • Occupied Palestine
  • Palestine
  • Israel
  • Hezbollah
  • Israeli occupation
  • Lebanon
  • Gaza
War on Gaza

War on Gaza

Most Read

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian attends a protest following the US attacks on nuclear sites in Iran, in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, June 22, 2025. (AP)

Iran declares victory as ceasefire forces Israeli retreat

  • Politics
  • 24 Jun 2025
Israeli workers survey the site where a missile launched from Iran struck in Haifa on Sunday, June 22, 2025. (AP)

True Promise 3, wave 20: 40 missiles launched, Kheibar-Shekan in first

  • Politics
  • 22 Jun 2025
Iran launches strikes on Israeli targets, despite alleged ceasefire

Iran victorious as ceasefire with 'Israel' takes effect

  • Politics
  • 24 Jun 2025
Iranian worshippers carry their country's flags in a protest to condemn Israeli attacks on multiple cities across Iran, after the Friday prayers ceremony in Tehran, Iran, Friday, June 20, 2025. (AP)

Iran warns of NPT withdrawal, Strait of Hormuz closure after US attack

  • Politics
  • 22 Jun 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
French far-right leader Marine Le Pen delivers her speech during the French far-right party national rally near the parliament in Paris, Sunday, April 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
Politics

US aide proposed funding Le Pen's legal fight, sparking uproar

People whose names were left out in the National Register of Citizens (NRC) draft fill their forms to file appeals near a NRC center on the outskirts of Gauhati, India, Monday, Aug. 13, 2018. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
Politics

India accused of illegal Muslim deportations to Bangladesh

Palestinians children mourn over the body of their father, Mohammed Ghaben, who was killed while heading to an aid distribution hub, at the morgue of the Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, Wednesday, June 18, 2025. (AP)
Politics

IOF troops admit to killing starving Palestinians: Israeli media

The commander of the Quds Force's Palestine Unit, Brigadier General Mohammad Said Izadi (Illustrated by Mahdi Rtail for Al Mayadeen English)
Politics

Who was Mohammad Said Izadi, head of the Quds Force's Palestine Unit?

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS