The genocidal Zionist war against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip has been ongoing for nearly four months without the occupation state achieving any of its stated goals. It has not eliminated Hamas, and has not been able to liberate the Israelis held hostage by the movement. Instead, some of them have been killed by Israeli bombs and bullets during the brutal onslaught against the Palestinians.
The occupation forces have even failed to force the Palestinians to flee from their homes across the border into Egypt, despite Israel’s murderous “encouragement to leave voluntarily”. The displacement of Palestinians from Gaza has been a dream of the Zionists since the time of David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s first prime minister. The Palestinians learned their lesson from the first Nakba and know that if they leave their blessed land they will probably never be allowed to return, despite it being the right of all refugees to return to their land; a right that Israel has never allowed the Palestinians to fulfil. They have also learnt that the Israeli enemy is not invincible.
Moreover, Israel has failed to win the media war; its propaganda has been exposed as lies time and time again, and its killing of tens of thousands of civilians — most of them children and women — has disgusted people around the world. And despite the huge difference in weaponry and military technology in favor of the apartheid state, it has been unable to defeat the stubborn resistance of the Palestinians who are using largely self-developed weapons and have an unshakeable faith in the Almighty, their legitimacy and their rights. Video evidence of the fighting, as well as of the captives, intensifies the psychological and popular pressure on the far-right government of Benjamin Netanyahu, killing his hope of creating the impression that Israel is winning.
Hundreds of Israel Occupation Forces officers and soldiers have been killed and wounded.
The IOF announced earlier this week the largest number of soldiers lost in a single day since the start of the offensive in October. This prompted Israeli President Isaac Herzog to write on X: “An unbearably difficult morning [but] Even on this sad and difficult morning, we are strong and remember that together we will win.”
Officially, Israel admits to losing just 219 soldiers, but the real death toll is much higher. The army is afraid to reveal the exact figure in case it loses public support, which is actually happening. Restrictions have been placed on international media embedded with Israeli troops. Even media outlets such as CNN and the Washington Post must send all output past the military censor.
If at least 1,000 military vehicles of various types have been knocked out of service since the beginning of the war — military experts estimate that this is the equivalent of three complete army divisions — then a huge number of casualties must have resulted. What’s more, there are reports of serious psychological trauma among poorly-trained Israeli conscripts, especially, after the terror of coming face to face with the Palestinian resistance.
According to Western military analysts, the Israeli campaign has failed and the human losses exceed all expectations. In the face of determined resistance and the destruction of many tanks, the IOF was forced to withdraw the Golani Brigade after 60 days of fighting in which it suffered heavy losses. Isn’t this a tacit — albeit honest — admission of defeat?
The recent withdrawal of Division 36 from Gaza will not be the last. With the start of the Israeli ground offensive 20 days after the launch of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood by Hamas, which shook the Zionists, the angry frenzy of revenge to destroy all of Gaza and its inhabitants had around 120,000 Israeli soldiers involved, many in elite brigades. Today, this number has been halved, after killing and wounding around 100,000 Palestinians, including more than 11,000 children. Thousands are still missing under the rubble of their homes, and two million have been displaced, many more than once.
This hateful neofascist entity has created enemies for life in every Palestinian and Arab home. Nobody will ever forget the death and destruction of this genocide. With many Palestinians seeing family, relatives and friends killed before their eyes, the images will stay with them forever. “Never again” will be replaced by “Never forget” as Gaza 2023/24 joins the long list of massacres, destruction and oppression carried out by Zionists since the 1940s. The 1948 Nakba is ongoing. The desire for revenge against the oppressors may be unpleasant, but it is entirely understandable. Israel has become the best recruiting sergeant that the resistance could have wished for.
Nevertheless, the Palestinian resistance fighters will continue to struggle and fight for the sake of The Almighty and the liberation of their land. With international law on their side as well, they are the key to a Palestinian victory, and stronger than the nuclear weapons that at least one Israeli minister wants to use against Gaza. Such weapons are the weapons of last resort. Israel knows that it can’t win.
-Dr Amira Abo el-Fetouh is a dentist and a political commentator. Her article appeared in MEMO.
