Israeli Army Reserve Major General Yitzhak Brik said that the Israeli army does not have the ability to overthrow the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), even if the war lasts for a long time.
Brik questioned the feasibility of continuing the fighting in the Gaza Strip, saying that if Israel continues the war, it will suffer huge losses represented by the collapse of the Israeli reserve army within a short period, as well as the collapse of the economy, as well as the deterioration of its international relations and the tearing apart of its society from within.
Brick said that not making a decision on “the day after the war” would lead to more deaths among the Israeli army, especially after it returned to fighting in the same areas it was in before.
Brik pointed out that entering Rafah would be the final nail in the coffin of Israel’s ability to topple Hamas.
Regarding the northern front, he said that the Israeli army is unable to push Hezbollah beyond the Litani River and allow about 100,000 displaced Israelis to return to their homes in the north due to continuing tension.
American estimates
In the same context, the Wall Street Journal quoted Israeli officers as saying that Israel is far from achieving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s goal of achieving complete victory.
The newspaper reported that American estimates indicate that Hamas will remain alive even if Israel launches a large-scale attack on the city of Rafah.
In a related context, Israeli War Council Minister Benny Gantz said that he stressed – during a call with US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan – that increasing international pressure on the Hamas movement is necessary.
He said that continuing military pressure is also necessary in order to reach a settlement to return “the hostages and remove the danger that the movement poses” to Israel, as he put it.
