[News] A Step Closer to Victory in Gaza

[Anti-Imperialist News]

palestinechronicle.com
<https://www.palestinechronicle.com/step-closer-to-victory-in-gaza-burns-expansive-deal-could-only-mean-one-thing-analysis/>
Step Closer to Victory in Gaza: Burns’ ‘Expansive Deal’ Could Only Mean One
ThingNovember 28, 2023
------------------------------
While Hamas' position did not change, the Israeli position is that of
confusion. (Image: Palestine Chronicle)

*By Ramzy Baroud & Romana Rubeo
<https://www.palestinechronicle.com/writers/ramzy-baroud-romana-rubeo>*

Hamas’ position has not changed. The same cannot be said about Israel. The
Israeli position, whether political or military, is that of confusion and
contradictions.

As soon as Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian
Resistance Movement Hamas, learned that Israel had violated the conditions
of the truce on Tuesday, November 28, as soon as it responded.

According to the Israeli army, Hamas has detonated
<https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/israeli-army-says-several-soldiers-lightly-injured-in-exchange-of-fire-in-gaza/3067159>
three explosive devices, near Israeli soldiers in “different locations of
northern Gaza”, wounding several.

Again, the message of Hamas is that the movement has not agreed to the
truce from a position of weakness, and is willing to resume the fighting as
soon as it is necessary to do so.

Hamas’ position has not changed. Indeed, it remains consistent with its
positions from the start of the war: We are ready to exchange all of our
captives, for all Palestinians held in Israel; We will fight until the last
Israeli soldier leaves Gaza; and our ultimate aim is a political
settlement, which includes ending the siege on the Strip, respecting holy
sites in Jerusalem, and a political settlement that ends illegal Israeli
colonization of the West Bank, and a fully independent Palestinian state.

The same cannot be said about Israel. The Israeli position, whether
political or military, is that of confusion and contradictions. And also,
tough talk.

This was on full display on Tuesday, November 28 in Gaza, when the Israeli
War Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz visited south Israel.

“After the cease-fire, the war will resume,” he said, emphasizing that “the
entire War Cabinet is united in this position. There is no other option.”

“We are preparing for the next stages of the war, and for expanding the
maneuver in the Gaza Strip as a whole. It will not be a city of refuge for
terrorists and Hamas leaders.”

Hamas understands that Gantz’s comments are intended mostly for local
consumption. In fact, this is precisely how top Hamas official Osama Hamdan
described Israel’s declaration that it was ready to resume the war.

For his part, Hamdan said that the Israeli army is yet to set foot on
nearly 80 percent of the land of Gaza and that such a mission is impossible
anyway.

The Hamas official based his statement on the fact that Israel has fought a
total of 48 days of war, including 28 days of ground invasion, without
advancing beyond empty areas in the north and east, and without seriously
engaging with Palestinian fighters in the most populated areas in northern
Gaza.

If Israel has any achievement worth mentioning, it is the fact that it has
penetrated the main road, spilling north Gaza from the south. But even
then, this operational military move remains indefensible. This is
precisely why various Israeli units were forced to retreat or reposition
themselves in the last hours before the first day of ceasefire, on November
24.

Then, there is the subject of Israeli casualties. Slowly, the Israeli
military is releasing information about the number of soldiers killed and
wounded in Gaza.

Today, for example, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz cited
<https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/1-000-israeli-soldiers-officers-injured-since-outbreak-of-war-on-gaza-on-oct-7/3067008#:~:text=Figure%20of%20injured%20includes%20over,critical%20condition%2C%20says%20Haaretz%20daily&text=Around%201%2C000%20Israeli%20soldiers%20and,Israeli%20media%20reported%20on%20Tuesday.>
the Israeli army as saying that over 1,000 Israeli soldiers were wounded in
the ground fighting in Gaza, out of which 202 are critically wounded.

The number has to be higher, and not just because of Al-Qassam’s documented
evidence of hundreds of Israeli tanks and other military vehicles being hit
or blown up.

On November 23, the Israeli Disabled Veterans Organization said
<https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/1-600-israeli-soldiers-left-disabled-by-gaza-conflict/3062935#:~:text=Around%201%2C600%20Israeli%20soldiers%20have,Veterans%20Organization%2C%20told%20Army%20Radio.>
that 1,600 Israeli soldiers have been permanently disabled as a result of
the war, in addition to thousands more who are suffering from post
traumatic stress disorder.

Permanent disability could only mean one out of three things: a serious
injury, a debilitating injury, or both.

All this in mind, it is hard to fathom Israel’s enthusiasm to return to the
battlefield with gusto, as promised by Gantz.

The battlefield is once again proving to be the ultimate test, according to
which victory and defeat are being defined, on both sides of this deadly
struggle.

While Palestinians know fully what they are fighting for, the Israelis seem
to be motivated by revenge, which must have, to some extent, been
satisfied, considering that they have killed well over 15,000 mostly
innocent civilians. (The number will grow by several thousands due to the
missing Palestinians under rubble.)

Moreover, military victories only count if they are joined by a political
and strategic victory. Out of these three potential victories, Israel has,
so far, achieved nil.

And this is why CIA Chief William Burns is currently in Doha, Qatar, to talk
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/11/28/cia-william-burns-israel-hamas-hostages/>about
a “more expansive deal”.

“Expansive deal” could only mean  a comprehensive prisoner swap and ending
the Israeli war on Gaza, simply because Hamas would not agree to releasing
all Israelis held in Gaza without assurances that the war will be over.

But if that takes place, only one interpretation is possible: Palestinians
have won, Israel has lost.

And this is why US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, is planning yet
another visit to the Middle East.

Unlike Burns, Blinken wants to talk politics, specifically how to manage
the final chapter in the Israeli war to help Tel Aviv save face.

Sure, he will talk about what to do with Gaza once Hamas is defeated, but
he should know that that scenario is no longer applicable, and that the
chances of it taking place are as unlikely as Israel winning this war.

Only time will tell how Blinken and his friends in Washington and Tel Aviv
will try to brand, or perhaps rebrand, the Israeli war on Gaza, to justify
its failure to achieve any of its initially declared objectives.

For the Palestinian Resistance in the destroyed Gaza Strip, however, they
feel that they are one step closer to clinching the first actual military
victory over Israel in a so-called conflict that has extended for over 75
years.

Considering the reality on the ground at the moment, the Palestinian
assessment seems to be fully justified.

*– Dr. Ramzy Baroud is a journalist, author and the Editor of The Palestine
Chronicle. He is the author of six books. His latest book, co-edited with
Ilan Pappé, is ‘**Our Vision for Liberation*
<https://www.amazon.com/Our-Vision-Liberation-Palestinian-Intellectuals/dp/1949762440>*:
Engaged Palestinian Leaders and Intellectuals Speak Out’. His other books
include ‘My Father was a Freedom Fighter’ and ‘The Last Earth’. Baroud is a
Non-resident Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Islam and Global
Affairs (CIGA). His website is **www.ramzybaroud.net*
<http://www.ramzybaroud.net/>

*– Romana Rubeo is an Italian writer and the managing editor of The
Palestine Chronicle. Her articles appeared in many online newspapers and
academic journals. She holds a Master’s Degree in Foreign Languages and
Literature and specializes in audio-visual and journalism translation.*
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