Duke Mu
Iconic Member
- Messages
- 1,282
I'd agree with this.On the plus side Israel's actions in Gaza have left Hamas a shell of what it once was, and unable to launch another 10/7 type attack:
Israel has achieved all that it can militarily in Gaza, according to senior American officials, who say continued bombings are only increasing risks to civilians while the possibility of further weakening Hamas has diminished.
With the Biden administration racing to get cease-fire negotiations back on track, a growing number of national security officials across the government said that the Israeli military had severely set back Hamas but would never be able to completely eliminate the group.
In many respects, Israel’s military operation has done far more damage against Hamas than U.S. officials had predicted when the war began in October.
Israeli forces can now move freely throughout Gaza, the officials said, and Hamas is bloodied and damaged. Israel has destroyed or seized crucial supply routes from Egypt into Gaza. About 14,000 combatants in Gaza have been killed or captured, the Israeli military said last month. (The U.S. intelligence agencies use different, more conservative methodologies to estimate Hamas casualties, though the precise number remains classified.)
The Israeli military also asserted that it had eliminated half the leadership of the Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, including the top leaders Muhammad Deif and Marwan Issa.
“Hamas is largely depleted but not wiped out, and the Israelis may never achieve the total annihilation of Hamas,” said Ralph Goff, a former senior C.I.A. official who served in the Middle East.
But U.S. officials believe that Israel has achieved a meaningful military victory. Hamas is no longer capable of planning or executing an attack on the scale of Oct. 7, and its ability to launch smaller terrorist attacks on Israel is in doubt, they say.
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 cease-fire, and what concessions Israel is prepared to make, American officials said.
![]()
In Gaza, Israel’s Military Has Reached the End of the Line, U.S. Officials Say
Israel has severely set back Hamas but will never be able to completely eliminate the group, U.S. officials said.www.nytimes.com
Bibi and Hamas would sign the Peace Treaty, but it would mean the end of Bibi and Hamas. Pressure from the Arab Nations, War cabinet, the people of Israel are going to have to force the issue.