TEHRAN- Israel is attempting to project an image of success in the wake of its genocidal war against Gaza despite suffering setbacks on the battlefield.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered his army to wage war on Gaza in early October 2023, which has so far claimed the lives of more than 41,000 Palestinians. Though nearly a year has passed since the start of the conflict, Netanyahu has not succeeded in realizing his objectives which mainly include “total victory” over Hamas and the elimination of the resistance movement.

Nonetheless, he aims to convey the perception that progress has been achieved in the war.

The Israeli army claimed on Thursday that it destroyed the Rafah Brigade of the al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas. It also claimed that more than 2,300 resistance fighters were killed and over 13 kilometers of tunnels built by Hamas were destroyed.

Nonetheless, a senior Knesset member dismissed the army’s assertions.

Amit Halevi, a member of the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Security Committee, said on Saturday that the Israeli army has not managed to defeat even a single battalion of the resistance movement in Rafah.

He also rejected the army’s claim of killing a large number of Hamas fighters as an exaggeration.

Halevi further said Israel has only destroyed a small fraction of the underground tunnels in Rafah.

He admitted that the Netanyahu regime has not only failed to accomplish any strategic successes but is also far from defeating or destroying Hamas.

This is not the inaugural instance of a high-ranking Israeli official highlighting the army's failures on the battlefield.

Last month, war minister Yoav Gallant said during a closed-door hearing before a Knesset committee that Netanyahu’s “total victory” slogan is “nonsense” and “gibberish”.  

It was also in August that around 100 Israeli officers warned that the regime’s army is “still far from victory”. 

“In the past few days, we have been astonished by repeated statements from senior army officials that victory is within reach and it is possible to move to the stage of pinpoint raids,” the officers said in a letter to military Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi.

They added, “We, who came from the field, know very well that the situation is still far from victory.”

The officers acknowledged that the Palestinian resistance factions still have cross-border capabilities such as UAVs, explosive drones and mortars as they took a jab at Netanyahu’s warmongering. “This is not what victory looks like!” the letter read. 

In June, the Israeli military spokesman also expressed skepticism regarding the feasibility of achieving the war objective of defeating Hamas.

“The idea that it is possible to destroy Hamas, to make Hamas vanish — that is throwing sand in the eyes of the public,” Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari told Israel’s Channel 13. He added, “Hamas is an idea, deeply rooted in the hearts of the residents of Gaza. To replace those who handle civil services and distribute or steal food, something else needs to be established. This is a decision for the political echelon, and the army will implement it.”

Israel’s war of genocide on Gaza followed the Al-Aqsa Storm Operation, a surprise attack carried out by Hamas in southern Israel on October 7.

Hamas said the operation was a normal response to all Israeli conspiracies against the Palestinian people. 

The Al-Aqsa Storm Operation shattered the image of Israel’s invincibility.

For now, Halevi's remarks, echoing the views of other Israeli officials, indicate that Palestinian resistance groups are unbeatable and possess the ability to bring the occupying regime to its knees.