TEHRAN- Israel has committed the most heinous crimes in the Gaza Strip since declaring war on the besieged Palestinian territory on October 7.

The Israeli army has slaughtered more than 37,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children. 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly said that he will continue the war until “total victory” over Hamas and “destroying” the resistance group. 

However, the Netanyahu regime has not only failed to eliminate Hamas but it has recently been dealt crushing blows at the hands of resistance fighters. 

Since early October, the Israeli military chief has generally spoken of “dismantling” rather than eliminating or eradicating Hamas.

Herzi Halevi’s comments implicitly indicate that even a protracted war will not be able to destroy the resistance group. 

Assessments by Israel’s military intelligence also showed in mid-February that even if the regime dismantles Hamas’s organized military capabilities, the movement will continue to operate in the Gaza Strip. The revelations also indicated that “authentic support remains” for Hamas among Gazans.

Back in March, the US intelligence community poured cold water on Israel’s dreams of bringing Hamas to its knees.

The community said in its annual report that Israel would likely face Hamas resistance "for years to come”.

Western officials have also acknowledged that Israel won’t be able to defeat the Palestinian resistance. 

Speaking during a panel discussion on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference in Germany in February, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Israel cannot defeat Hamas through military means. 

Power of Palestinian resistance 

According to a report published late on Monday by the Wall Street Journal, Yahya Sinwar, the military leader of Hamas, has said resistance fighters have the upper hand over Israel in the war in Gaza.

The American newspaper said Sinwar has recently told Hamas’ political leadership in Qatar, “We have the Israelis right where we want them.”

Sinwar has added, “We have the capabilities to continue fighting for months.”

The senior Hamas official has stressed that only resistance can bring an end to Israel’s war of genocide in Gaza. 

He has drawn a comparison between the Israeli carnage in Gaza with the Battle of Karbala. 

Imam Hossein, the third Shia Imam, and his 72 companions were martyred in the Battle of Karbala in southern Iraq in 680 AD after fighting courageously for justice against the much larger army of the then tyrant and illegitimate ruler Yazid.

Muslims in certain countries hold huge mourning ceremonies every year to mark the occasion. 

“We have to move forward on the same path we started or let it be a new Karbala,” Sinwar reportedly said. 

The WSJ report comes days after Israel massacred more than 270 Palestinians in central Gaza as it tried to release four captives from the Nuseirat refugee camp which sparked huge global outrage.