Reuters quoted a senior American official as saying that Washington believes it is unlikely that Israel will be able to achieve complete victory in its current war on the Gaza Strip.
The agency also quoted Israeli military spokesman Peter Lehner as saying that killing every member of the Hamas movement is an unrealistic goal, and that the army is not seeking to achieve it.
He added that eliminating Hamas as a ruling authority can be achieved, and it is a military goal within reach, as he put it.
About two weeks ago, US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell revealed that President Joe Biden’s administration does not believe that Israel will achieve “complete victory” over the Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip.
During a NATO youth summit in Miami, Campbell said, “In some ways we find it difficult to define what the theory of victory is, and sometimes when we listen closely to Israeli leaders, they mostly talk about the idea of a sweeping victory on the battlefield, a complete victory.” .
Repercussions of the war
The American official added, “I do not think we see this as likely or possible. This is very similar to the situations we found ourselves in after the events of September 11, where the insurgency continues after the transfer of the civilian population and a lot of violence.”
CNN quoted the US Deputy Secretary of State as saying, “We are wrestling with Israel over the nature of victory in Gaza. We do not believe that the complete victory that Israel seeks to achieve is likely or possible.”
This comment is considered the first actual American acknowledgment that the current Israeli military strategy will not achieve the result it aims to achieve.
In the same context, the Israeli newspaper “The Times of Israel” at the time quoted an American official as saying that the process of marginalizing Hamas would take years.
The American official said that Hamas will remain in Gaza in some form after the war ends, and that Washington’s goal is to limit the movement’s ability to carry out an attack similar to the October 7, 2023 operation.
It is noteworthy that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeatedly pledged to achieve “complete victory” over Hamas after it launched Operation Al-Aqsa Flood against Israeli bases and settlements, killing 1,200 soldiers and settlers and capturing 250 others, according to Israeli figures.
As a result, Israel launched a continuing aggression against the Gaza Strip, which has so far led to the death of more than 35,000 Palestinians, most of whom are women and children.
