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 Ministry of Health: Final toll from airstrike on car in Zebdine, Nabatieh District: Two martyrs, four injured
Egyptian media: Indirect talks between Hamas and Israelis begin in Sharm el-Sheikh.
AFP: France's new PM Sebastein Lecornu resigns just hours after unveiling cabinet.
Trump: Technical teams will meet again on Monday in Egypt to discuss and clarify the final details, and the first phase is scheduled to be completed this week
US President Donald Trump: Talks with Hamas have been very successful and are moving at a rapid pace
Local sources in Aleppo: Violent clashes erupt between the SDF and factions affiliated with the transitional authority on the Deir Hafer and Tishrin Dam fronts in the eastern Aleppo countryside
Israeli media: Interceptor missiles fired in an attempt to shoot down the drone
IOF Spokesperson: Sirens sounded amid suspected "enemy aircraft" infiltrating the Eilat area
Israeli media: "Israel" won the battle but lost the war strategically and politically
Israeli media: Ben Gurion Airport's airspace closed to air traffic following missile launch from Yemen

'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

White House concerned about unfolding domestic terrorism conspiracy

Von der Leyen faces no-confidence vote for 'surrendering Europe' to US

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

Iraq at a crossroads: A new war front?

Iraq at a crossroads: A new war front?

  • West Asia
  • 30 Sep 2025
A Hamas fighter in combat fatigues stands before the ceremony for the handover of Israeli captives to the Red Cross in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip, Saturday, February 22, 2025 (AP)

Hamas responds to Trump plan, backs Gaza withdrawal, exchange

  • Politics
  • 3 Oct 2025
Tucker Carlson speaks at a memorial for Charlie Kirk, Sunday, September 21, 2025, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona (AP)

Tucker Carlson: Israeli officers gave orders on Iran inside Pentagon

  • Politics
  • 2 Oct 2025
ap

'Israel' pays influencers $7K per post to whitewash Gaza genocide

  • Politics
  • 1 Oct 2025

Coverage

All
War on Gaza

Read Next

All
Hezbollah's representative in Iran, Sayyed Abdullah Safieddine, during an interview with Al Mayadeen which aired on October 6, 2025 (Al Mayadeen)
Politics

Tehran never interferes in Hezbollah decisions: Representative in Iran

Smoke billows over the Gaza Strip following an Israeli bombardment, as seen from southern Palestine, Sunday, Oct. 5, 2025. (AP)
Politics

Indirect talks for a ceasefire in Gaza begin in Sharm El-Sheikh: Egypt

Fighters from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) prepare to attend a military parad in Qamishli, northeastern Syria, Tuesday, August 12, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Security forces seal Aleppo’s Sheikh Maqsoud, Ashrafieh districts

Amsterdam Captain Mohammed Ali Mohiuddin, who took part in the Global Sumud mission to Gaza, talks to Al Mayadeen on October 6, 2025 (Screengrab)
Politics

GSF captain says despite abuse, 'Israel weaker than spider's web'

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