Despite having the upper hand on a tactical level, Israel still can’t defeat the Palestinian group, according to Major General Gadi Shamni, a former commander of the Israeli military’s Gaza division. In an interview with the New York Times published on Tuesday, Shamni said Hamas was winning the war, while Israel was losing, “and in a big way”. He said the military capabilities of Hamas have undeniably been reduced, but the group still maintains control over Gaza. Hamas members have been retaking towns across Gaza “15 minutes” after Israeli troops withdrew from them, he added.
His view is shared by some current and former Israeli security officials who don’t see Hamas’ defeat as a possibility, according to NYT.
A senior defence official, speaking on condition of anonymity, separately told ABC News on Tuesday: “We are losing the war, we are losing deterrence, we are losing the hostages.” The official also warned against launching an offensive on Lebanon, saying war there “is easy to start, but very hard to end”.
Other unnamed military officials told the American broadcaster that Israel was “stuck” in Gaza and unable to achieve its war objectives.
The comments come as United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken was set to travel to Egypt to reboot dormant ceasefire talks.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been accused by Israeli officials of torpedoing the indirect negotiations with Hamas, according to ABC. His insistence on maintaining control over parts of the Gaza Strip, including the border with Egypt known as the Philadelphi Corridor, has been the main stumbling block in the talks.
“If Philadelphi was so important, why did we wait eight months [into the war] to take it?” an unnamed senior Israeli official said.
Israeli forces have killed more than 41,200 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip in over 11 months of intense bombardment, including an estimated 16,700 children, according to health officials.
