Paul Rogers, professor emeritus of peace studies at Radford University, published a commentator's article saying: The official narrative is that Hamas is weakened, but in reality the IDF's massive force doctrine is failing.
Until recently, the war narrative about Gaza was largely controlled by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the country's Ministry of Defense.
Israel's international reputation could be shattered by the killing of more than 20,000 Palestinians, the wounding of more than 50,000 and the destruction of much of Gaza.
But the IDF can still peddle plausible claims that Hamas is severely weakened, and even claim that the war construction in northern Gaza is largely complete, and that it will not be long before progress in southern Gaza will be successful.
The handful of journalists still working in Gaza face serious hardship, including risks to their personal safety, while the international press corps is trapped in Jerusalem and relies on IDF *** for most of its information, which contributes to this narrative.
Things changed as different sights began to emerge.
First, there is a lack of evidence to support the IDF's claim that there is a Hamas headquarters under the Shifa Hospital;
Second, despite having some of the world's most advanced intelligence, the IDF has not been able to pinpoint the location of Israeli hostages.
Two more incidents have occurred recently. On December 12, Hamas paramilitary forces conducted a clever triple ambush in parts of Gaza that were allegedly controlled by Israeli forces.
An IDF unit was ambushed and recruited, and more troops were sent to aid the unit, but they and reinforcements were subsequently ambushed.
Ten IDF soldiers were reportedly killed and others seriously wounded, including a colonel and three majors from the elite Golan Brigade.
If Hamas has been battered and thousands of soldiers have been killed, it can still carry out such operations anywhere in Gaza, not to mention the fact that the ambush is reported to have taken place in areas already under IDF control, which should cast doubt on the idea that Israel is making substantial progress in the war.
A few days later, further signs emerged when three Israeli hostages managed to escape from their captors, only to be killed by IDF soldiers, despite being topless and holding white flags.
To make matters worse, five days before the hostages were killed, IDF search and rescue dogs equipped with audio equipment received the hostages**, which caused great outrage in Israel.
There are other broader signs of the IDF's problems.
More than 460 military personnel were killed and about 1,900 injured in Gaza, Israel and the occupied West Bank, according to official** figures.
But the other *** indicates that the number of injured is much higher.
Ten days ago, the main Israeli newspaper Novaya Izvestia published information obtained from the Ministry of Defense. The head of the department, Limor, reportedly said that since the beginning of the conflict, more than 2,000 IDF soldiers have been registered as disabled, and 58% of them have suffered serious injuries to their hands and feet,** a much higher number than the official figure.
At the same time, the Times of Israel reportedIDF soldiers,The number of Israeli police and other security forces injured was 6,125.
A lot of friendly forces were also created**, and the same ** reported that 105 out of 20 people killed as a result of such bombing or accidents in combat were killed by friendly fire.
Overall, the IDF is still following the time-tested Dahiya doctrine of the use of large-scale force in response to unconventional warfare, causing widespread social and economic losses and weakening the insurgents' will to fight, while deterring future threats to Israel's security.
But this is seriously wrong.
Criticism came from unexpected quarters, including former British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace, who warned that the repercussions would last for 50 years. Even Biden** is thoroughly upset by what is happening, but Benjamin Netanyahu and the wartime cabinet are determined to continue it for as long as possible.
It's worth profiling for the reasons why.
The October 7 attack and the atrocities involved fundamentally undermined Israel's assumptions of security, meaning that to date, the vast majority of Israeli Jews still support Netanyahu's response.
But even so, the situation is worsening, and the IDF has made it worse by the killing of three hostages.
As a result of all this, the IDF commander is under tremendous pressure and will act within the limits of the wartime cabinet.
Many of these commanders, while inevitably aligned with the Ministry of Defense, are so smart that they now know that despite Netanyahu's rhetoric of destroying Hamas, Hamas, or at least Hamas's will to resist, cannot be defeated by military force.
They also know that while negotiations have reached an impasse, pressure from the hostages' families could soon lead to another humanitarian pause.
So their goal is to destroy Hamas as much and as quickly as possible, no matter what the Palestinians cost, so the Israeli army ramped up its airstrikes this week, using high-tonnage aerial bombs to directly destroy entire neighborhoods.
The real reason behind this is Netanyahu's dependence on the few extreme religious fundamentalists and strident Zionists in his **.
They wouldn't have gained wider support in Israel without the tragedy of October 7, but they, in turn, are doing more and more harm to Israel's long-term security.
Not only does Israel risk becoming besieged by Arab states (or even abandoned by allies), but it will also hatch the next generation of more radical opposition from a reconstituted Hamas or its successor.
Israel needs to save itself, but it depends first and foremost on Joe Biden and those around him. Perhaps driven by the rapidly changing public mood in Western Europe, they must recognize their role in bringing this conflict to an immediate end.
With more than 20,000 Palestinians killed, more than 50,000 wounded and much of Gaza destroyed, Israel's international reputation could plummet.
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