<div dir="ltr">
<div class="gmail-top-anchor"></div>
<div id="gmail-toolbar" class="gmail-toolbar-container">
</div><div class="gmail-container" lang="en-EN" dir="ltr">
<div class="gmail-header gmail-reader-header gmail-reader-show-element">
<a class="gmail-domain gmail-reader-domain" href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/what-did-the-israeli--army--lose-in-al-aqsa-flood---ayman-al">english.almayadeen.net</a>
<div class="gmail-domain-border"></div>
<h1 class="gmail-reader-title">Writer Ayman Al-Rafati martyred in Israeli raids; Read his last op-ed</h1>
<div class="gmail-credits gmail-reader-credits">Al Mayadeen English</div>
<div class="gmail-meta-data">
<div class="gmail-reader-estimated-time" dir="ltr">February 14, 2024<br></div>
</div>
</div>
<hr>
<div class="gmail-content">
<div class="gmail-moz-reader-content gmail-reader-show-element"><div id="gmail-readability-page-1" class="gmail-page"><p>Ayman
Al-Rafati, martyred on Wednesday morning, wrote his last piece for Al
Mayadeen Net this morning, detailing the challenges the occupation will
have to face following its monstrous war on Gaza.</p><img src="cid:ii_lsm4jumx0" alt="1b2e27fe-8d99-4bf1-9f13-549ac9baf3b6.png" width="391" height="308"><br><div><ul id="gmail-content-slick-0"><div aria-hidden="false"><li>
What did the Israeli 'army' lose in Al-Aqsa Flood?: Ayman Al-Rafati
</li></div></ul>
<p>Earlier on Wednesday, an Israeli raid on al-Jalaa Street in Gaza City killed three Palestinians, including <strong>Al Mayadeen</strong> contributing writer and martyr Ayman Al-Rafati. </p>
<p>His most recent piece was published this morning, titled "What did
the Israeli 'army' lose in Al-Aqsa Flood?", translated below. </p>
<h2>What did the Israeli 'army' lose in Al-Aqsa Flood?</h2>
<p>Operation Al-Aqsa Flood and the aftermath of the war on the Gaza
Strip created colossal changes within the occupation "state" and its
"army", which has not been able to repolish its reputation till today,
following the crushing defeat it experienced on October 7, and has not
been able to achieve the political establishment's war goals despite
constant reiterations of its capabilities since the start of the war.</p>
<p>The losses suffered by the Israeli Army are multilayered and
multilevelled, whether tactical or strategic, internally or externally,
as "Israel" has not maintained the same morale it glorified, and could
no longer impose actual regional change amid its failure to achieve any
accomplishment in the battlefield. The "army" now encompasses deficits
in components that allow its self-perseverance and coherence that would
have allowed it to engage in future combat.</p>
<p>Throughout the current war, the Israeli "army" lost a great deal of
its power, which it prided itself on under the banner of being an
unbeatable force, and that of being the most powerful army in the region
that could easily defeat all surrounding enemy armies within hours.
This was reflected in its strategic positioning during this war, which
rendered this military force <a href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/-israel--in-toughest-of-times--strategic-goal-unachieved--io" target="_blank" rel="noopener">incapable of achieving any strategic victory</a> and raised questions about its ability to confront regional factions. </p>
<p>The Israeli Army can also no longer protect the occupation and its
economic and security sphere in the shadow of its recurrent military
incompetence, particularly the incompetence that was seen during
glorious October and its aftermath, as it finds itself convicted of
distrust in its essence and military capabilities, despite it being the
most technologically advanced force the region has seen. The concept of
boundless and progressive power was therefore seen as futile in an
asymmetric war and against an expanding and burgeoning regional
Resistance. </p>
<p>Ideologues acknowledge the diffidence and self-doubt the Israeli
military is drowning in as a result of the Flood that is the
Resistance's operation, which has shown it and many of the globe's
nations that in the absence of <a href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/us-not-to-rethink-military-aid-to--israel---says-it-is-not" target="_blank" rel="noopener">profound American and Western support</a>,
be it political, military, or logistical, then the absolute impotence
of the Israeli occupation forces would be clearly projected, and its
rapid and alarming disintegration would be transparent for everyone to
see. </p>
<p>Many Israeli military leaders have now developed a sense of personal
insecurity and have been doubting their future in Gaza post-war. Despite
the <a href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/israeli-massacre-in-rafah-kills-at-least-100-palestinians" target="_blank" rel="noopener">vigorous fighting in Gaza</a>,
they internalized the belief that they would be tried, prosecuted, and
fired for their internal failure, and would not be able to partake in
the political realm after the end of their duty, much alike former
military leaders. Externally, they would be international fugitives
wanted for the crime of ethnic cleansing. </p>
<p>The Israeli "army" has also seen major losses in military personnel, reaching the <a href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/israeli-media--13-000-iof-troops-injured-since-october-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tens of thousands of soldiers</a>
who either fell casualty or were declared mentally unfit, and this
extends to all ranks, but specifically officers, not to mention Israeli
losses in heavy equipment, almost 1,500 tanks, including the
world-renowned Merkava tanks. Therefore, it's safe to say that the IOF
has lost its military aptitude in Gaza.</p>
<p>On the other hand, the <a href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/hezbollah-holds-the-occupied-north-as--hostage---israeli-med" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Israeli settler society</a>
has also developed levels of distrust in the military's competence and
ability to protect. After the IOF boasted its ability to defy and
confront its enemies, and its possession of a sophisticated protection
and security program that includes the Iron Dome and David's Sling,
their collective inefficiency was exposed. So, when the reality of the
military's incompetence was revealed on October 7, Israeli settlers grew
fearful of a similar future scenario on both the northern or southern
fronts.</p>
<p>This, intertwined with the extended duration of the war on Gaza as it
enters its fifth month and the Israeli "army's" inability to achieve a
decisive defeat and accomplish its listed goals, have hit levels of
confidence in the IOF, which exhibited a decrease from 75% to 61% over a
mere two weeks, and the levels continued to decrease as the war
extended.</p>
<p>The ramifications of this doubt in the IOF's abilities will
dangerously unfold in the future. Settlers will begin contemplating
alternative places of residence as <a href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/Economy/how-war-on-gaza-dealt--israel--mighty-economic-blow--axios" target="_blank" rel="noopener">economic stability</a>
and national security cannot be guaranteed under the presence of an
inept and floundering "army" that could not even bring back war
captives, in addition to the predicaments surrounding drafting services
that will re-emerge after the war's blaze dies down. </p>
<p>On the international horizon, the occupation forces have exposed their own immorality and have been globally recognized as a <a href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/un--30--of-schools-in-gaza-directly-bombed-by-iof" target="_blank" rel="noopener">criminal unethical army</a> that resonates with Nazism, one that is carrying out the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in Gaza, and is being tried at the <a href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/-israel--not-abiding-by-icj-orders-of-avoiding-genocide--un" target="_blank" rel="noopener">International Court of Justice</a>
for its crimes against humanity. The occupation thereby possesses the
simplest description to portray its essence: "A people that have been
subjected to genocide, genociding another people".</p>
<p>Now, the global populace <a href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/settlers-attended-iof--nude-torture--of-detained-gazans--eur" target="_blank" rel="noopener">regards it adversely</a>, and "Israel's" propaganda machine, the Hasbara, will not be able to recover its reputation anytime soon. </p>
<p>One main challenge the Israeli forces will be facing in the future,
viewing its military conduct, reckless viciousness, and unprecedented
magnitude of crimes, is the birth of an entire generation that
vehemently opposes its very existence and prepares to mercilessly
destroy it. And it might just be that, through its crimes, "Israel" has
ignited a fire and unraveled coals still burning beneath the ashes, and
plainly proved to everyone that it is an entity that cannot coexist with
the rest of the world. It is here that the occupation failed in its
ability to marginalize Arab and Palestinian factions from the future
war. </p>
<p>The Israeli military's predicament following the war on Gaza will be
extremely difficult, and will witness heavy and serious accusations.
Contrary to the internal support the IOF receives, seen in the support
the occupation government and opposition grant it, accusations will rain
down on it like wildfire, and it will try to defend itself by blaming
the <a href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/nbc--biden-belittles-netanyahu-in-private-but-will-still-sup" target="_blank" rel="noopener">political establishment, which will not let it be</a> until it makes matters worse for the Army.</p></div></div></div>
</div>
<div>
</div>
<div></div>
</div>
</div>