Nine months have passed since the start of the relentless Israeli war against the Palestinians in Gaza, and the killing of defenseless Palestinian civilians and the destruction of their homes continues.

The world watches on, without any serious effort to stop it, not even the UN Security Council, let alone the US or Europe, even though a single resolution under Article 7 of the UN Charter is enough to oblige the Zionist entity to stop the war and impose sanctions on it. This has not happened. It is as if the world is enjoying this brutal war and does not want it to end.

How could it end when the occupation state of Israel is basically defeated? Its leaders wrote the end of the story at the beginning of the war: the defeat and complete elimination of the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas. This is what their sick imaginations drew up for them, and they thought they could implement it on the ground, but this has not happened and will not happen.

It is unable to achieve them, though, and the government has no plan to end the war other than to start another war. Unfortunately, this is encouraged by the West and even some Arab countries that have normalized relations with the occupation state and also want to eliminate Hamas and so are funding the war under the table.

US Vice President Kamala Harris stressed in one interview: “President Biden and I have been clear: Israel has a right to defend itself. And we will remain steadfast in that conviction.” She added, “Too many innocent Palestinians have been killed.” She mentioned the dead as if they were not killed by US-supplied bombs and weapons.

It is unfortunate to hear such statements after it has been proven conclusively that the goal of the Zionist war goes against all internationally-recognized human, legal, political and military laws and values, and cannot be included under the definition of legitimate self-defense.

Thus, the fate of Gaza remains dependent on a number of factors and what the Zionist entity and its allies in the West and in the region are planning to achieve and impose as a new reality that would affect the future and shape of the Palestinian state that they want, and even the future of the entire region.

Netanyahu has issued many threats since the start of his invasion of the Gaza Strip, when he claimed that he would wipe out Hamas militarily and politically, capture its leaders, and return the hostages within less than 48 hours. Now, nine months later, he is reduced to boasting that the Rafah battle will be a critical phase in the path to complete victory and an end to the rule of Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

However, statements by military leaders and strategic analysts from within Israel itself confirm that the reality on the ground is terrible, and very different to Netanyahu’s racist statements, and that none of Israel’s war goals have been achieved. This has put the Zionist military and political leaders in a dangerous strategic dilemma.

“This business of destroying Hamas, making Hamas disappear — it’s simply throwing sand in the eyes of the public,” said Israel Defense Forces spokesman Daniel Hagari on Channel 13. “Hamas is an idea, Hamas is a party. It’s rooted in the hearts of the people — whoever thinks we can eliminate Hamas is wrong.”

The commander of the 12th Brigade of the 252nd Sinai Division is Colonel Liron Betiteo. His unit is tasked with protecting the border with Egypt and was deployed in Rafah due to the lack of combat readiness as a result of exhaustion and losses among troops. Betiteo’s comments were unprecedented: he insisted that dismantling the military capabilities of Hamas in the city of Rafah will take at least another two years. He added that the task of eliminating Hamas is not easy, and it requires time and great military pressure because the movement is waging a guerrilla war in Rafah through independent groups which makes dealing with it more difficult. The senior Israeli officer also said that anyone who believes that the air raid sirens will stop within the next year is throwing ash in the eyes of the Israeli people.

According to General Gadi Eisenkot, a minister in the Israeli War Cabinet, “Whoever speaks of absolute defeat [of Hamas] is not speaking the truth. Claiming that hostages could be freed by means other than a deal is to spread illusions.”

Retired Israeli General and military expert Yitzhak Brik said that the army is unable to eliminate Hamas. “The army does not have the ability to overthrow Hamas and continuing the war will inflict huge losses on Israel and lead to the collapse of the army and reserves within a short period. It will also cause the collapse of the economy and the deterioration of international relations.”

Even Israeli Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter made it clear when he said, “Eliminating Hamas’ ability to rule the Gaza Strip is still far from being achieved.”