Retired Israeli General Brik: 'Israel has reached point of no return'

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Maariv
Today 10:52
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Retired Israeli General Yitzhak Brik warns that "Israel" is now the “biggest loser” from the failure to reach a ceasefire agreement, as its military objectives remain unfulfilled.

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Israeli settlers attend a memorial service marking two years since the October 7, 2023, in Kibbutz Kfar Aza, just outside of the besieged Gaza Strip, in southern occupied Palestine, on October 7, 2025 (AP)

Retired Israeli Major General Yitzhak Brik warned that "Israel" has reached a “singular point”, a political, social, and security crisis marking a “point of no return” in its war on the Gaza Strip.

Writing in an op-ed for Israeli newspaper Maariv on October 5, Brik said "Israel" is now the “biggest loser” from the failure to reach a ceasefire agreement, as its military objectives remain unfulfilled and its regional position continues to deteriorate after 2 years of war.

“If no agreement is signed, the consequences for Israel will be severe. The captives will not return home, many more soldiers will be killed and wounded if fighting continues, and Hamas will not be defeated,” Brik wrote.

Brik: Hamas feels confident, 'Israel's' threats lost credibility

According to Brik, Hamas’ response to United States President Donald Trump’s ceasefire plan reflects the group’s confidence in its strength and its tunnel network.

“Hamas feels strong enough and is not afraid of Israeli threats,” Brik said, adding that the movement no longer takes seriously Israeli warnings from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or Security Minister Israel Katz.

Claims of destorying majority of tunnels are false

Brik argued that two years of fighting have taught Hamas the limits of the occupation army and the emptiness of political promises. Israeli claims of destroying 60% of Hamas’ tunnels, he wrote, are false.

“In reality, less than 20% were destroyed.”

He added that Israeli figures on casualties among Palestinian Resistance fighters were also inflated, “not 20,000 killed, but fewer than 10,000," and that new recruits have replaced those losses, bringing Hamas’ current force back to around 30,000 fighters.

'Israel has achieved none of its war aims'

Brik said the war has cost "Israel" hundreds of troops killed and thousands wounded, while failing to free captives or restore deterrence.

“We have been fighting for two years and have achieved none of our war objectives,” he wrote.

“The prime minister continues to deceive the public with slogans like ‘We changed the Middle East for the better,’ while in reality, it is changing for the worse—against Israel,” the retired general asserted.

He also accused senior Israeli officials, including Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar, of misleading the Israeli public by claiming that Trump’s demand for an immediate ceasefire and negotiations was anticipated and planned.

Brik said the Israeli leadership’s lack of credibility has brought the entity to a state of strategic paralysis, warning that "Israel’s" collapse now extends beyond the battlefield to the economy, academia, international relations, medicine, and education.

Regional dynamics turning against 'Israel'

Warning that an emerging US–Qatar–Turkiye axis poses a severe threat to "Israel’s" long-term security, Brik said that “the noose of threats surrounding Israel is tightening, while we are not building any military capability to face it.”

He cited Trump’s new defense pact with Qatar, which guarantees US protection in case of attack, and Washington’s signals about possibly reinstating Turkiye into the F-35 fighter jet program.

He argued that "Israel’s" continued intransigence is leading to diplomatic isolation and the erosion of its regional ties.

“Hamas will achieve what it never dreamed of achieving—disconnecting Israel from the world, from Arab states that signed peace with it, and from any path to future normalization.”

'A ceasefire can save Israel'

Brik urged an immediate ceasefire agreement and political change, arguing that only negotiations “with compromises on both sides” can save "Israel" from total collapse.

He praised Trump’s decision, made hours after Hamas’ response, to order an immediate halt to Israeli bombardments and push for talks, saying that the decision “should have been made months ago” and could have spared "Israel’s" heavy losses.

“The success of the negotiations depends on close American supervision,” Brik wrote, warning that Netanyahu could again try to sabotage talks as he had in the past.

“If the negotiations fail, Hamas will soon refuse any future compromise, knowing that time is on its side and Israel is weakening on all fronts.”