Doubts mount among Israelis as war on Gaza persists

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: NPR
11 Jan 2024 18:52
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The resistance continues to inflict heavy casualties on IOF troops, launch rockets, and hold more than 130 captives.

Israeli soldiers take up positions during a ground invasion in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip on Wednesday, Jan. 10. 2024 (AP Photo)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue the military aggression on Gaza until achieving a "definitive victory over Hamas," following the outbreak of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood on October 7. However, skepticism is on the rise within "Israel" regarding the attainability of a meaningful military triumph, US-based news agency NPR reports.

After nearly 100 days of relentless air-and-ground offensives, "Israel's" genocidal campaign has left much of the Gaza Strip in ruins, resulting in over 23,000 Palestinian martyrs, according to Gaza's health ministry.

The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) claims to have achieved significant successes, including the killing and arrest of thousands of resistance fighters, the confiscation of weapons, and the destruction of Hamas rocket launchers and tunnels.

However, the resistance continues to inflict heavy casualties on IOF troops, launch rockets, and hold more than 130 captives.

"There is no way this will end with Israel claiming victory," Eyal Hulata, Israeli former internal security adviser (2021-2023), told NPR. "Israel lost this war on the 7th of October. The only question now is whether we can disable Hamas's ability to repeat this. And we might succeed, or we might not."

Families of captives demand reevaluation of military strategy

A prominent group advocating a change in "Israel's" war strategy consists of citizens whose relatives were taken captive by Hamas. The Israeli regime argues that the military campaign aims to pressure the resistance into releasing the remaining captives in Gaza.

Families of captives are calling for a temporary cessation of hostilities and an immediate deal with Hamas to secure the release of the remaining captives. A similar agreement in late November resulted in the release of some Israeli captives and Palestinian prisoners.

In recent weeks, Israeli families and their supporters have staged protests by blocking the entrance to "Israel's" military headquarters in downtown "Tel Aviv" for several minutes every hour. Holding signs and reading out the names of captives still held in Gaza, they demand a reevaluation of the current approach.

One of the protesting relatives, Udi Goren, whose cousin Tal Chaimi was killed in the events of October 7, argues that the slogan of destroying Hamas is an "empty slogan," pointing to the group's extensive network of tunnels and remaining fighters. Goren emphasizes the challenges of conducting a war in an urban area with approximately 2 million refugees and captives.

Week by week, "Israel" announces the destruction of more tunnels and the killing of more fighters. However, as the toll on IOF soldiers rises, the resistance continues to resist, and international pressure mounts for "Israel" to de-escalate its aggression.

The US has called for a transition to lower-intensity fighting in northern Gaza, with thousands of reservists being withdrawn. Meanwhile, tensions are escalating on "Israel's" northern border with Lebanese militants.

"I'll be surprised if Israel can maintain this intensity for many more months ahead," Hulata told NPR.