Alwaght- Two months ago, the controversial Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stood in front of media reporters and threatened to soon transform Gaza into a parking lot following the October 7 attack by Hamas. Actually, Netanyahu sarcasm meant that Hamas, the dominant force in the Gaza Strip, will be defeated and the Israeli army will take control of the besieged enclave.
Now, two months have gone since the heavy bombardment campaign in Gaza started. Not only have the Israelis failed to gain full control over Gaza, but also there are no tangible signs of Hamas defeat in the largely unequal war. Continuation of war for over two months has led to some analysts evaluating the war as going against Tel Aviv favor, and many inside and outside Israel admit that Tel Aviv has suffered defeat on the ground.
It obviously seems that after two months of battle in Gaza, Tel Aviv is far from realizing its goals, while on the other hand pressures are mounting on the Israeli government to end the war. The global outcries are increasing and even the US that has deep relations with Israel does not hide its worries about continuation of war. The US on Saturday vetoed a call at the United Nations Security Council for an immediate ceasefire, but Israel’s traditional ally Britain abstained from voting. Such an approach is mainly driven by public pressures in the Western countries to end the war as continuation of the war has imposed high political costs on the Western countries.
Fruitless bombardment
Since October 7, namely over two months, Israel has been attacking Gaza with about 400,000 troops, bringing this small region under the history’s heaviest bombing. As a result of this bombing, nearly 2 million people have been displaced. According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, more than 15,000 civilians, including about 6,000 children and 5,000 women, have been killed by these attacks, and the US State Department suggested that the actual casualties in Gaza could be much higher. Israel has bombed hospitals, ambulances, mosques and schools and razed to the ground half of the residential buildings in northern Gaza. The Israelis have cut off all water, food, and electricity in Gaza from the 2.2 million residents of this world’s most densely populated region. By any definition, these actions amount to collective punishment of civilians and a crystal clear war crime. From this point of view, Israel’s achievement from bombing Gaza is nothing but war crimes.
Aimless military deployment to southern Gaza
Even now that the Israeli forces are advancing in Gaza’s south, the aim of the campaign remains unclear. Although Israeli officials claim they target Hamas, the latter’s attacks on the occupied territories continue and their continuation means that the Israelis have not yet managed to neutralize the movement’s offensive military power. Foreign Affairs magazine points to this fact in an analysis, saying that strategically this Israeli approach is doomed to fail and the military campaign in Gaza has already failed. The analysis adds that the large-scale carpet bombardment has not yet persuaded the Gazans to withdraw their support to Hamas. On the contrary, these attacks have only led to further Palestinian fury against Israel. Over 65 days of war showed that Israel may be capable of totally destroying Gaza but not Hamas. It adds that this movement may now be stronger than before and massive attacks on civilian places have enhanced Hamas popularity among the Palestinians. History has proven that intense bombing of civilian regions secures almost no gains. Gaza is no exception, and despite unceasing bombing, the Palestinian fighters counter the occupation forces with a stronger determination. A reporter of Israeli Kan news network recently said that Hamas has not disappeared and Israel failed to eliminate officials of these movement who were said to be the aim of the operation in Gaza.
