According to the report, pockets of ‘guerrilla’ resistance remain despite over five months of intense fighting in the besieged Gaza Strip.
Israeli intelligence officials have admitted that Israel may not be able to destroy the Palestinian Resistance Movement Hamas, the British daily newspaper The Telegraph reported on Wednesday.
“The main objective of the Gaza invasion faces failure as international support turns against Israel,” the paper reported, citing informed sources.
According to the report, pockets of ‘guerrilla’ resistance remain despite over five months of intense fighting in the besieged Gaza Strip, and that it may be “ too late” to destroy the remaining Hamas battalions now that the US has “turned its back on Israel”.
The source blamed international pressure that “is mounting on Israel to reach some sort of a deal”.
Moreover, according to the report, “some underground weapons production facilities are thought to remain intact.”
Without providing further evidence, the sources reiterated that Israel believes “its best chance of destroying Hamas lies with entering Rafah.”
“The US doesn’t support going into Rafah which they did before, so the cards right now are not good, meaning Israel has to do something dramatic and drastic to change the momentum and climate,” the source said.
Rafah Invasion
The US has repeatedly said that Israel should not invade Rafah without a humanitarian or military plan.
“We have said what we need to see to be able to support a Rafah operation. That is a credible and implementable humanitarian assistance plan,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters on March 12, adding: “We haven’t seen such a plan yet,” Miller said.
The spokesperson said it was “our judgment that they cannot, should not go into Rafah without a humanitarian assistance plan that is credible and that they can actually implement,” adding “Let’s wait and see what it is they come up with.”
UNSC Resolution
Tensions between Washington and Tel Aviv are running high after the US did not use its veto power, thus allowing a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire to pass at the United Nations Security Council.
The resolution, which was presented by non-permanent members of the Security Council, “demands an immediate ceasefire for the month of Ramadan respected by all parties leading to a sustainable lasting ceasefire.
US Abstains – UN Security Council Passes Resolution Calling for Gaza Ceasefire
It also “demands the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, stressing the urgent need to increase aid and demanding the removal of all obstacles to its delivery.”
The resolution, which was written by the ten elected members to the council and was proposed in the council by Mozambique’s representative, passed with 14 votes in favor and the US abstaining.
The United States said the resolution was non-binding. However, the UN Charter stipulates that all Security Council resolutions are legally binding under international law.
Gaza Genocide
Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 32,490 Palestinians have been killed, and 74,889 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.
Moreover, at least 7,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.
Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.
Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire.’
(The Palestine Chronicle)
