Hamas’ power growing; 80% of tunnels in Gaza usable: Foreign Affairs

The failure to defeat Hamas has been proven after nine months of Israeli aggression in Gaza, and according to Foreign Affairs, the occupation is far from achieving that goal because it backfired and instead Hamas has only grown stronger.

Despite global condemnations of “Israel’s” actions, the occupation continues to prioritize defeating Hamas and argues that punitive measures against Gaza’s population are critical to achieving this goal.

According to Haaretz in January, Israeli occupation forces launched the war on Gaza with the following objectives: “to destroy Hamas’ capabilities, disarm it, achieve security control of the Gaza Strip, establish a civilian institution similar to the Palestinian Authority model in Area B, and secure the contributions from moderate Arab states to rebuild the Gaza Strip.”

Due to “Israel’s” military campaign, Hamas has actually grown stronger, according to Foreign Affairs, which compares the situation to the Viet Cong’s resilience during the “search and destroy” missions in South Vietnam from 1966 to 1967 as US troops were deployed to sway the war.

The main flaw in “Israel’s” strategy lies not in the tactical faults or restrictions on military force, but rather in the significant misunderstanding of the sources pertaining to Hamas’ power. With that, “Israel” continues to fail in recognizing that its shortcomings and destruction imposed on Gaza and its population have only strengthened Hamas and further pushed itself back.

Further highlighting “Israel’s” failure and exposing its lies of destroying most of the Resistance’s underground infrastructure, 80% of Hamas’ tunnels remain operational for planning and storing weapons and are successful in avoiding Israeli surveillance, radars, and attacks.

As a matter of fact, Hamas remains in de facto control of large swaths of Gaza, despite Israeli claims of taking control and finalizing operations in those same areas.

Furthermore, Hamas now has more fighters in the northern areas of Gaza, which the IOF invaded in the fall at the cost of hundreds of soldiers and claimed it had “cleansed”, than it does in Rafah in the south, Foreign Policy revealed.

The war has yielded only one conclusion: there is no military-only solution to defeat Hamas, if ever. With its unabating genocide against civilians, “Israel” may kill some Hamas fighters, but it is also strengthening the bonds between all the different community categories in Gaza.

On Friday, Israeli Broadcasting Corporation (KAN), cited former Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot as saying, “Hamas is an idea that Israel will fight for many years to come.”

However, Israeli leaders show no greater readiness to consider a feasible political solution than they did before October 7. The tragic situation in Gaza shows no signs of abating, with the war persisting and resulting in further Palestinian casualties. This ongoing war only escalates the threat to “Israel’s” security.

Just today, CBS News reported, citing a US official, that “the Israelis haven’t come close to achieving their objective of destroying Hamas,” as hundreds of Palestinian fighters continue fighting and miles of tunnels remain intact and unexplored.

The American official considered that “Israel’s” lack of a post-Gaza war plan makes the current strategy “a recipe for continuous war.”

Still, Israeli occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insists on “the destruction of Hamas’ military and governing capabilities” as part of “Israel’s” conditions for ending the war on Gaza.

The US official’s remarks echo those of the spokesperson of the Israeli military, Daniel Hagari, who acknowledged that the goal of “eradicating Hamas” is unattainable.