Neighboring the end of the 15-month hell in the Near East, Israel and the Hamas have practically agreed on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, and there are good chances that it will be upheld. As a result, the Hamas will release the hostages step by step, and Israel will free some Palestinian prisoners and withdraw from the Gaza Strip.
The last point is the most problematic, as Israeli politicians and officials at various levels have repeatedly expressed their intention to maintain at least part of the Gaza Strip under their control: the northern parts of Gaza City and the corridor that cuts through the Gaza Strip from east to west, as well as the area along the border with Israel. Now, Netanyahu is forced to agree to a step-by-step, complete withdrawal, and if this does not happen, the agreements will be nullified and the fighting will resume.
But how could such an agreement be reached in the first place? Although Trump had promised the Hamas “hell” if the hostages were not released before his inauguration, Israel was actually forced to give in. Together, the outgoing and incoming US administrations exerted pressure on Netanyahu, but ultimately, he had no good alternatives. Although some may think that Israel has won the 15-month conflict not only in the Gaza Strip but in the entire region – for Hamas commanders and leaders of the Lebanese Hisbollah were killed, Assad’s power in Syria collapsed, and the position of Iran in the region was weakened – in reality, it looks even worse than a Pyrrhic victory.
For Israel could not win in Gaza. As an author in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz wrote: “Even if we occupy the entire Near East and even if all surrender to us, we will not conquer Gaza.”
In the end, Netanyahu’s real goal was not the revenge for the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, the destruction of the Hamas structure, or the hostage release. The main goal was the elimination of the Gaza Strip as such. The inhabitants had to be so intimidated that they were willing to flee anywhere. As a last resort, they could be concentrated in a part of the Gaza Strip and the northern part detached from it. The will to resist had to be completely broken. In the remaining Gaza Strip, Israel would let in Arab representatives to take over the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip – which would generally be in the crosshairs and under Israeli control.
Despite the murder of almost 50,000 people (although recent numbers from Western experts suggest that the actual number of fatalities is over 70,000) – including the entire leadership and core of Hamas activists; despite the perpetration of a true genocide (through bombing of hospitals, hunger, and blockades); despite the destruction of most of the houses, infrastructure, and economy of the Gaza Strip, Israel failed to break the Palestinian resistance. Even US Secretary of State Blinken had to admit recently that the Hamas has gained as many fighters as it lost, which means that the guerrilla war against the superior forces of the occupiers will continue.
Exactly for this reason, Netanyahu was forced to retreat. He will still declare victory and say that all goals have been achieved, but in Israel itself, people are aware that the desired success was not achieved. So, the Israeli press writes: “We are the first to pay the price for Trump’s election. We were pushed to accept the agreement. Our hope was to gain control over the north of the Gaza Strip and block humanitarian aid.”
This agreement was described as “shameful and miserable” and the leader of the ultranationalists, Minister Ben Gvir, called it a “capitulation deal.” It is possible that the radicals will now leave the government – in this case, Netanyahu would face early elections. He will still try to sell himself to the Israelis as a “winner” but his Pyrrhic victory in Gaza will have a high price for Israel.
For in the last 15 months, the expression “Jewish genocide” has gained a second meaning: it is no longer just about the genocide of the Jewish population during the Second World War, but also about the genocide perpetrated by the Jewish state in the eyes of the entire outraged humanity against the Palestinians in Gaza. There is no justification or explanation for this. And the verdict “guilty of genocide” will not only be pronounced against Netanyahu, but against the Israeli state itself, which was built on the land and the blood of the Palestinian population. This is far worse than a Pyrrhic victory – it is a strategic, moral, and political defeat for Israel.