The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been going on for nearly three months since Hamas raided Israel in October. Israel has launched a massive mobilization to attack the Gaza Strip and vow to eliminate Hamas. But some experts believe that there is still a long way to go before the Israeli prime minister has pledged to eliminate Hamas, and may no longer even be the goal. According to CNN, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly declared that he will use all forces to completely eliminate Hamas. But the conflict has been going on for months, and Israel seems far from that goal. Israel's military intelligence chief, Haridwar, said nothing about the elimination of Hamas when he talked about the battle plan last week. Even earlier, the IDF spokesman had said that the war could continue for another year.
Sabu, an expert at the Royal Institute of British Studies, a British think tank, believes that historically, it is very difficult to eliminate a political and military force that has taken root in the region. Moreover, Hamas's influence extends beyond Gaza, and the Israeli military leadership is well aware of this, and he believes that the most Israel can do is to significantly reduce Hamas's military power. Other experts believe that the Israeli army has achieved some of its military objectives in the past three months. According to an analysis by a think tank called the Israel Democracy Institute, it is not necessary to wipe out Hamas to succeed, but the point is that Hamas can no longer effectively rule Gaza.
The Israeli military estimates that Hamas has about 30,000 fighters in Gaza, divided into five brigades, each equipped with anti-tank missiles, snipers, mortars, and engineering maintenance capabilities. Israel has also been targeting the killing of Hamas leaders in Gaza, but the fact is that such organizations are prone to change leaders, and not one person is irreplaceable. Hamas itself is an armed organization that emerged from the historical process of the Jewish Restoration and the continuous encroachment on Palestinian land. It has a considerable mass base in the Gaza Strip and has also built extensive tunnels and has institutions outside Palestine. It is not easy to be eliminated in itself, and even if it were eliminated, as long as Israel did not change its policy towards Palestine, it would inspire another armed group to rebel against Israel. Not to mention the fact that Israel's military operations have caused a large number of Palestinians**, which has already angered the entire Middle East. Rather than working for the complete elimination of Hamas, Israel should consider the multi-fronted pressures it faces.
Just recently, Iraqi militias announced that they had used cruise missiles to attack important targets in the Israeli port of Haifa in a matter of days. In a statement, the group said the attack was in support of its compatriots in Gaza in response to Israel's aggression against the Palestinian population. The group also promised that it would continue to conduct more operations targeting enemy strongholds. The port of Haifa, which was attacked by Iraqi militias, is Israel's largest port. Israel is also a country that is more dependent on external resources, and the port cannot be operated, and I am afraid that even the normal operation of society will be affected.
It is noteworthy that in recent days there has been information that Israel appears intent on expelling Palestinians from the Gaza Strip. In this regard, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken repeatedly said during his visits to Jordan and Qatar that the United States opposes forcing Palestinians to leave the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, while condemning Israel's "fanatical and provocative" remarks. The King of Jordan told Blinken that regional stability can only be resolved through a "two-state solution" and opposes any forced disengagement of Palestinians. Both Jordan and Qatar have warned that a prolonged conflict could pose a greater risk, but Blinken has shied away from this crucial issue. In fact, the United States has always been a staunch supporter of Israel, providing military and economic aid to Israel shortly after the conflict broke out. The United States can play a very important role in resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, but the United States has not taken any concrete action and continues to provide assistance to Israel, which is the basis for Israel to dare to act arbitrarily.