Israel 'far from defeating Hamas' after 300 days of war: Israeli expert

By Abdelraouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) - Israel is still far from achieving victory over Palestinian resistance group Hamas in Gaza, despite the brutal war it has been waging for 300, an Israeli analyst suggested on Thursday.

"Hamas is an organization that knows how to adapt. Despite a long list of casualties, over time, it has become stronger and emerged as a more significant and important enemy," said Ohad Hamo, an Arab affairs commentator for TV broadcaster Channel 12.

Hamo's comments on local radio station 103 FM followed an announcement by Israel's military on the presumed demise of Hamas' military leader, Mohammed Deif, though the group has not confirmed his death.

"After 10 months of damaging the Israeli war machine, there remains one main 'home' (leadership) in Gaza, and that is Hamas, especially in the central and southern parts of the strip," he said.

"It was expected that after ten months of war, there would be an alternative to Hamas, but what is happening today? Thousands of new recruits are joining Hamas," he added.

Hamo observed that this was "both good and bad news:

"The good news is that they are losing members, but the bad news is that young people have no alternative to join other than Hamas."

He underlined the need for Israel to persuade Gaza's young people to join an entity other than Hamas, adding that so far, Tel Aviv "has failed to do so."

On Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, Hamo said, "There is a belief that Sinwar, left alone after the elimination of his senior associates, might become more flexible, though some argue the opposite."

"Israel is still far from defeating Hamas," he said.

Israel, flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas.

Nearly 39,500 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 91,000 injured, according to local health authorities.

Almost 10 months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

*Witting by Mohammad Sio