The Israeli Broadcasting Authority quoted sources in the Israeli occupation army as saying, “They only have weeks to end the military operation in the city of Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip, and move to the next stage of the fighting.”
The sources added that the army and political leaders are exploiting the remaining time in the Rafah operation to pave the way for a prisoner exchange deal with the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas).
Yesterday, Friday, the Israeli Broadcasting Authority said that Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is preparing to soon announce the “defeat” of the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, in the Gaza Strip, coinciding with the possibility of expanding the military campaign against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.
This comes despite the Palestinian factions continuing their operations to confront the incursions of the occupation army, and despite the admission of the head of the National Security Council in Israel, Tzachi Hanegbi, last May, of failure to achieve all the goals of the war, including returning prisoners, eliminating Hamas, or returning settlers to the country. Their homes are safe in the south of the country.
Last Monday, the Israeli army claimed that two of the four Rafah battalions affiliated with the Al-Qassam Brigades were “on the verge of collapse,” while the other two battalions were “medium efficient.”
Meanwhile, Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari acknowledged on Wednesday that “there is no real possibility” to destroy Hamas, saying that “the issue of destroying the Palestinian organization or making it disappear is just throwing ashes in the eyes of the public.”
According to him, “the only way to weaken Hamas is to form a new government in the Gaza Strip.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to Hagari’s words, saying, “The political and security government under my leadership has identified the destruction of Hamas’ military and governmental capabilities as one of the goals of the war, and the Israeli army is of course committed to this matter.”
Since the beginning of the Israeli war on Gaza on October 7, Netanyahu has set “the destruction of Hamas” as one of the war’s goals, although many Israeli military analysts and observers doubt the possibility of achieving this.
The Israeli war on Gaza, which enjoys significant American support, left more than 123,000 Palestinians dead or wounded, in addition to thousands missing.
Israel continues its war despite two UN Security Council resolutions to stop it immediately, and orders from the International Court of Justice to end the invasion of the city of Rafah, and to take measures to prevent acts of “genocide” from occurring, and to improve the miserable humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip.
Source : Tel Aviv Tribune + Agencies + Israeli press