By Ahmet Gencturk
ATHENS (AA) - Israel risks losing the support of traditional allies and the perception of invincibility, a Greek newspaper warned Wednesday as casualties climb among the ranks of the Israeli army and the civilian population in the Gaza Strip.
Alexis Papachelas, the executive editor of the Kathimerini newspaper, which is traditionally pro-Israel and pro-US, emphasized that Israel’s carefully built image, which served as a deterrent to its Arab neighbors and formed “a global brand synonymous with unparalleled security prowess,” was severely damaged on Oct. 7
“Because the blow did not come from a major country like Iran but from Hamas,” he said.
Papachelas said the killing of three Israeli hostages by Israeli forces in Gaza after they escaped from Hamas captivity, added to the blow.
Noting the Egyptian army’s surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 1973, and Mossad’s assassination of an innocent man in Norway the same year, he said: “The notable difference now is the unprecedented division within Israel, as well as the fact that previous leaders had experienced the tumultuous birth of their state.”
Drawing attention to the mounting civilian casualties and the swift and severe worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza, Papachelas maintained that Israel is losing the global public opinion battle.
“Internationally, a valid suspicion arises that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli leadership do not wish to see a solution based on the creation of an independent Palestinian state,” he said.
Israel is losing the support of the US public and political establishment as the mood in Europe is changing as well, according to Papachelas.
“Despite the leadership’s insistence on a doctrine of doing what is necessary regardless of friends’ opinions, Israel should be alarmed,” he said.
Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, killing more than 20,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injuring 52,586, according to health authorities in the enclave.
The Israeli onslaught has left Gaza in ruins with half of the coastal territory's housing stock damaged or destroyed, and nearly 2 million people displaced within the densely-populated enclave amid shortages of food and clean water.
Nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack, while more than 130 hostages remain in captivity.