Fighting continues in Gaza, the smoke of gunfire is everywhere, and a high-profile war is quietly unfolding. Months of conflict have severely weakened Hamas. The latest war reports show that the Israeli army has achieved remarkable results after several days of fierce fighting, inflicting heavy losses on Hamas. According to recent data, thousands of Hamas members, including 50 commanders, have been killed, and 10 battalions of the Hamas Kasam brigades have suffered devastating blows. The Israeli army's successful advance into southern Gaza cut off the retreat of Hamas forces in the north has made it extremely difficult to get supplies from southern Gaza. Even more dire is the fact that Hamas's commander in the entire Gaza region, Sinwar, has lost contact with the outside world, and the impact cannot be underestimated. In order to effectively suppress Hamas's underground tactics, the Israeli army must take full control of the Gaza Strip in order to completely destroy Hamas's underground combat system.
However, Israel is gradually realizing that Hamas does not rely on a traditional centralized command system to fight. Even without the command of their commanders, Hamas members are able to maintain their combat capability thanks to decentralized tactics. Hamas draws on Allah's ground defense model, focuses on small-scale decentralized deployment, encourages the initiative of grassroots fighters, and focuses on guerrilla warfare and urban street warfare. Although this approach limits long-range support and mobility, it is effective in increasing the independent combat capability of each combat unit. The Israeli army is highly dependent on the fire support of the air force, and the combat qualities of the infantry themselves need to be improved. In the ongoing conflict, Israel has deployed at least 60,000 troops with 14 brigade-sized troops. However, these units were mediocre in terms of combat effectiveness, and mainly adopted the strategy of encirclement and gradual advance.
Despite the heavy damage inflicted on Hamas, the Israeli army does not dare to take it lightly. In other important news, USAID employee Hani Jenena and his family were killed in an Israeli airstrike on the Gaza Strip. This incident is not only a repetition of the tragedy, but may also raise questions about the actions of the United States against Israel. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the main executive agency for U.S. foreign non-military assistance, recently had an unprecedented internal dissatisfaction incident, which has attracted widespread attention and discussion. Prior to this harrowing incident, USAID had been actively urging the United States to exert pressure on Israel to reduce the number of unarmed people. However, it is frustrating that the fact that Hani was killed was covered up within the organization, and it is possible that the top management had already known about it but did not make it public.
As the incident continues to be revealed and the international community reacts, it may trigger the United States to re-examine its relationship with Israel and even re-evaluate its military action against Israel. Recently, Biden openly and bluntly criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, indicating the important decisions made by the United States in the situation in the Middle East. Biden stressed that the United States will firmly support Israel's security, but also hinted that support is not unconditional. He noted that Israel is not only dependent on the United States as an ally, the European Union and many other countries are also on Israel's side, however, these partnerships are fading due to Israel's attack on Gaza. This shows the message that Biden is trying to send to Netanyahu: even if Israel has its strongest allies, the latter could turn away at any time.
At the same time, Biden's rhetoric also reveals a deeper implication that Israel's isolation in the international community is becoming more pronounced and that opposition to a "two-state solution" with Palestine could lead to a broader alienation in international relations. It is also suggesting that if Netanyahu does not change his attitude, Israel may lose more allies. Notably, Biden also stressed that Netanyahu needs to make "difficult decisions," suggesting that the United States believes that Israel should actively seek a peaceful solution to the conflict. Biden did not elaborate on specific measures, but he has issued a warning to Netanyahu urging him to take concrete action to advance the peace process. Despite criticizing Netanyahu's initiatives and expressing expectations, Biden has not lost confidence. He concluded that Netanyahu must reform and strengthen his ** in order to find a long-term solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
While this is a challenging task, such a change is indispensable for the contentious situation in the Middle East. In addition, Biden's statement marks a possible adjustment of US policy towards the Middle East, and at the same time foreshadows his vision for the future direction of the Middle East. In the coming years, we can foresee that this position will further influence the attitude of the international community towards Israel. Biden's statement may be a signal to tell Israel that it is better to stop military operations in Gaza immediately. Of course, Biden has made similar statements before, but Israel has not acted. The change in U.S. attitude toward the Middle East policy did not happen suddenly. Earlier, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, during his visit to Israel, in addition to expressing support, also sent a message. He hoped that Israel would end its military operations in Gaza within a month.
This deadline is not unfounded and reflects the struggle of the United States in the face of international pressure. At the same time, the large number of civilians** has drawn attention to the conflict around the world. Blinken said in an interview that every measure related to the protection of civilians is being adopted by the Israeli military, but the actual results do not appear to be as expected.