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
Russian Ministry of Defense: 37 Ukrainian drones destroyed in 4 hours over regions of Russia and the Black Sea.
Sheikh Qassem: Our supporters make up more than half of Lebanon's population, and all of these people are united under the banner of protecting Lebanon, its Resistance, its people, and its integrity.
Sheikh Qassem: There will be no phased handing in of our arms. [The Israelis] must first enact the agreement before we start talking about a defensive strategy.
Sheikh Qassem: Be brave in the face of foreign pressures, and we will be by your side in this stance.
Sheikh Qassem: Stripping us of our arms is like stripping us of our very soul, and this will prompt us to show them our might.
Sheikh Qassem: We will not abandon our arms, for they gave us dignity; we will not abandon our arms, for they protect us against our enemy.
Sheikh Qassem: The US efforts we are seeing are aimed at sabotaging Lebanon and constitute a call for sedition.
Sheikh Qassem: If you truly want to establish sovereignty and work for Lebanon’s interests, then stop the aggression.
Sheikh Qassem: The United States, which is meddling in Lebanon, is not trustworthy but rather poses a danger to it.
Sheikh Qassem: The United States is preventing the weapons that protect the homeland.

Hamas won first round of fighting against 'Israel': ex-diplomat

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Israeli media
  • 11 Apr 2024 01:36
  • 4 Shares
3 Min Read

The former British ambassador to "Israel" says Hamas has also already demonstrated that it is a force to be reckoned with, by surviving the Israeli attacks.

  • x
  • Tom Phillips
    Destroyed buildings are seen in the Gaza Strip, on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023. (AP Photo)

The former British ambassador to the Israeli occupation entity, Tom Phillips, considered that the Palestinian Resistance group Hamas had already won the first round of the fighting with "Israel".

In an opinion piece published in the Israeli news website Haaretz, Phillips said that Hamas "flipped the script of a militarily invincible Israel and exposed the fragility of its international support, prompting hard questions about its long-term sustainability."

On the military level, he suggested that the ongoing Israeli war on Gaza may ultimately eliminate Hamas' military leadership there, but said that it can be argued that the Palestinian group has already won the first round of the conflict.

Phillips said that Hamas' objectives behind Operation al-Aqsa Flood on October 7 remain unclear, but its minimum goal is presumed to be releasing the largest possible number of Palestinians detained in Israeli prisons and reaffirming itself as a force not to be underestimated.

On both fronts, Hamas has already succeeded, he indicated.

The former British diplomat believed that "Hamas has also already demonstrated that it is a force to be reckoned with," merely by surviving the Israeli attacks for a longer period than any war "Israel" has ever waged.

Related News

Trump claims Gaza war to end in weeks, despite ongoing Israeli assault

OIC decries Israeli aggression, warns against Gaza occupation

In doing so, according to Phillips, the Palestinian Resistance group has "thoroughly dented Israel's much vaunted deterrent status," adding that the Israeli occupation military "no longer looks invincible."

On the regional level, Phillips noted that Hamas has created, at least for the time being, an effective barrier to Saudi-Israeli normalization, raising the price that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman must feel compelled to impose on "Israel" for such a deal to happen.

At least for now, no state in the region is interested in signing normalization accords or anything similar, he added.

Internationally, Phillips continues, and despite the Biden administration's careful balancing act of supporting "Israel" while facing domestic, regional, and international pressures to end the Israeli war, the crisis has shown the United States' diminished ability to wield its power.

Additionally, the war on Gaza exerted pressure on US-Israeli relations and created a wave of countries now actively considering whether it is time to recognize a Palestinian state, exposing the fragility of European support for "Israel", the former British ambassador pointed out.

Phillips concluded his opinion piece in Haaretz by suggesting that the astonishing speed with which "legitimacy" was stripped from "Israel" after October 7 can be seen by many in the world as additional evidence of Hamas' "victory."

Read more: Biden calls on 'Israel to call' for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza

  • Gaza Strip
  • war on Gaza
  • Operation Al-Aqsa Flood
  • Palestine
  • Israel
  • Hamas
  • Gaza
War on Gaza

War on Gaza

Most Read

Tom Artiom Alexandrovich, executive director of the defense division of the Israeli National Cyber Directorate, undated (Social media)

Israeli-born US prosecutor drops Israeli officer child sex crime

  • Politics
  • 19 Aug 2025
Almost instantly after the Helsinki Accords were signed, organisations sprouted to document purported violations, whose findings were fed to overseas embassies for international amplification. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Zeinab el-Hajj)

How ‘Human Rights’ became a Western weapon

  • Opinion
  • 23 Aug 2025
Israeli soldiers stand on the top of armoured vehicles parked on an area near the Israeli-Gaza border, as seen from southern Israel, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025 (AP)

Palestinian fighters target Israeli soldiers, vehicles in Gaza

  • Politics
  • 21 Aug 2025
Launch of a ballistic missile from Yemen toward the occupied Palestinian territories. (YAF military media)

Yemeni Forces announce firing hypersonic missile at Al-Lydd Airport

  • Politics
  • 22 Aug 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference at the Prime minister's office in al-Quds, Occupied Palestine, Sunday, Aug. 10, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Netanyahu deliberately derailing truce with Gaza occupation: Hamas

Irish President Michael Higgins arrives to deliver his speech during a 42nd World Food Day celebration at FAO headquarters in Rome, on Oct. 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Politics

Irish president renews call for UN military intervention in Gaza

US Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at the US Embassy in Aukar, northern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, July 21, 2025 (AP)
Politics

US envoy, Netanyahu discuss restraining attacks on Lebanon, withdrawal

Smoke billows following Israeli airstrikes in multiple areas in Sanaa, Yemen, Sunday, Aug. 24, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Ansar Allah vow sustained Gaza support despite Israeli strikes

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