War objectives failed, talk to Hamas for captives: Ex-Israeli Gen.
4 Min Read
The former Israeli general says the Israeli occupation entity should reach a prisoner swap with Hamas so as "not to leave empty-handed" and pay a heavy price for its war failure.
-
Israeli occupation soldiers climb on a wall during an urban warfare exercise at an army training facility, in southern occupied Palestine, on January 24, 2022 (AP)
"Israel" will not be able to achieve its main war objectives of ending Hamas and its political and military capabilities or retrieving the captives, and this failure would impose on the occupation entity paying a very heavy price, former Israeli Reserve General Itzhak Brik said on Wednesday.
In a Haaretz op-ed, Brik explained that the upcoming phase of the war on Gaza will be extremely difficult for "Israel", as it will face several barriers that it has no solutions for so far.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last week that the option of an attack to isolate Gaza from Egypt is on the table. The military plan aims to occupy the Philadelphi Route or Corridor, a region extending between the Gaza-Egypt border, which Rafah is at the center of, to block Resistance tunnels and routes.
Read more: Sayyed Nasrallah: 'Israel' mired in failure; US intimidation futile
However, Israeli media reported that It will be impossible for Israeli occupation forces to fight inside the densely populated Rafah refugee camps due to the high civilian cost of such a ground offensive, which neither the entity nor the United States can handle at this point.
This comes as global popular pressure is constantly growing against the occupation entity for its ongoing genocide in Gaza, with brutality and destruction unforeseen in long decades.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza reported on Monday that the number of martyrs in the Strip surpassed 24,000, with over 60,800 wounded.
No solution to Rafah tunnels
Brik said that any attempt "to take control of the refugee camps in Rafah would lead to mass killing of civilians, and the United States and the world as a whole would not allow us to do that."
On that premise, he denied that "Israel would initiate a large-scale ground operation in the Rafah camp."
There are no solutions to the Rafah tunnels, and the cost of that on "Israel" will be hefty, he added.
Read more: After IOF fail in Gaza, 'Israel' must pay political price: INSS
"Israel does not have any solution to the tunnels in the Philadelphi Route at the moment, as blocking them requires building a wall 13 kilometers long and 40 meters deep inside the Gaza Strip, and Hamas will never allow that, and on the Egyptian side, it is technically possible to build the wall, but the Egyptians do not agree to it so far," the general said.
Leave not empty-handed
Meanwhile, Brik said that in order for "Israel" not to pay a heavy price, it must change its strategy and withdraw from Khan Younis and the camps in central Gaza in the third stage of the war.
The General added that "Israel should then besiege them from the outside, carry out precise operations, and infiltrate Hamas forces surgically with the help of intelligence information."
He stressed that the ultimate goal is still achievable, which is to bring back all Israeli captives through an agreement with the Resistance Hamas, even if it comes at the expense of a ceasefire in Gaza so that "Israel" does not leave empty-handed, having failed to achieve all the objectives it set.
Read more: Resistance position clear; no talks until Israeli war stops: Official
Haaretz said in a report on Tuesday that the price of a prisoner exchange deal with the Palestinian Resistance in Gaza without achieving the war objectives is a recognition of failure on behalf of the government and army. According to the newspaper, this will deepen the internal disputes among Israeli officials.
