Israel reaches 'end of the line' in Gaza, will 'never defeat' Hamas: US officials
Despite close to one year of war, Hamas and its tunnel network remain intact alongside several other resistance factions in Gaza
The Israeli army has reached the “end of the line” in its war on the Gaza Strip, the New York Times (NYT) wrote in a 14 May report.
Senior US officials told NYT: “Israel has achieved all that it can militarily in Gaza … continued bombings are only increasing risks to civilians while the possibility of further weakening Hamas has diminished.”
The report adds that a “growing number” of US national security officials believe that Israel has “severely set back” Hamas but will never be able to completely defeat them.
Retired Israeli general Yaakov Amidror said, “If Israel evacuates its forces now, within a year, Hamas will be strong again.”
The resistance movement has been “diminished,” said the former head of US CENTCOM, Joseph L Votel, but added that the goal of releasing Israel’s captives in Gaza is impossible through war and can only happen through ceasefire and exchange negotiations.
“An array of administration officials are fanning out across the region to try to nail down a Gaza ceasefire deal and possibly avert a retaliatory attack by Iran and its allies in response to the recent Israeli assassinations of senior Iranian-backed proxy leaders,” US officials told NYT.
Yet Israel and its prime minister have been consistently obstructing the negotiations.
US officials also claimed that “Hamas has been so damaged in the war that its officials have told international negotiators it is willing to give up civilian control of Gaza to an independent group after a cease-fire is in place.”
“How long Hamas will be willing to give up a measure of its power will depend on what happens after a ceasefire, and what concessions Israel is prepared to make,” they said.
It is worth noting that the Palestinian resistance factions, including Hamas, have all rejected US–Israeli–Arab plans for international missions in post-war Gaza – and have repeatedly affirmed that what comes next for the strip will be the decision of the Palestinian people.
The NYT report is not the first US assessment determining that Israel has been unable to defeat Hamas and its armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, militarily.
An extensive CNN report from earlier in August says Israel has taken out only three of the Qassam Brigades’ 24 battalions in 10 months, contrary to Israeli claims.
US intelligence has also estimated that the resistance group and its large network of tunnels remain intact.
Several other factions also remain entrenched across Gaza and consistently confront Israeli troops.