Most Hamas officers I’ve met or spoken to in latest weeks acknowledge that the principle targets set by the motion after the 7 October assault on Israel haven’t been achieved.
These included stopping the growth of Israeli settlements within the West Financial institution and Jerusalem, establishing a Palestinian state, releasing all Palestinian prisoners and lifting the siege on Gaza.
Nevertheless, they insist that Israel’s failure to get rid of Hamas or take away it from the political scene constitutes a victory.
“Israel promised to get rid of Hamas, however now they’re sitting in the identical constructing with Hamas leaders and negotiating with them,” a senior Hamas official instructed me in a cellphone name earlier than the ceasefire was introduced.
I put to him that Gaza was in ruins, Israel had killed tens of hundreds and eradicated most of Hamas’s leaders – how did they take into account this a victory?
The official replied: “By way of numbers, Gaza has paid an unimaginable value. However when it comes to good points and losses, Israel failed to interrupt the need of the Palestinians, the resistance, or to push the folks overseas.”
He described the assault by the group, which is proscribed as a terrorist organisation by the UK and different international locations, because the “greatest army and safety blow” in Israel’s historical past. “Nothing can change that.”
In Gaza, folks’s reactions are conflicted. Tears and jubilation intermingle, reflecting each reduction that the dying toll might quickly cease rising and concern of the unsure future which awaits 1.2 million individuals who have misplaced their properties, colleges, universities and hospitals.
The controversy in Gaza about 7 October, when round 1,200 folks had been killed and 251 others taken hostage, has continued all through the warfare and intensified after the ceasefire was introduced.
Some defend Hamas, claiming its survival alone is sufficient to name it a victory, whereas others criticise the motion, arguing that the unprecedented value paid by Palestinians constitutes a defeat.
Mohammed Imad al-Din, a barber in Gaza Metropolis pressured to flee to Khan Younis together with his spouse and youngsters together with greater than 1,000,000 others, instructed the PJ: “If killing 46,000 folks, displacement and destruction is a victory, then I hope the leaders of Hamas can clarify the which means of defeat.
“I am relieved, however undoubtedly not comfortable as a result of the long run is unsure.”
In the meantime, Saifjan Al-Shami, a physician on the Islamic College of Gaza, mentioned on Fb she was “shocked by any Palestinian, particularly a Gazan, who doesn’t acknowledge the victory of his nation and mocks those that say we received.
“Sure, Gaza received, and Hamas received. Hey, are you aware the factors for victory earlier than you communicate? You need to evaluation your self, your patriotism and your loyalty to Gaza. Gaza received regardless of the spite of the haters.”
For now it’s too early to guage whether or not the warfare will finish after the primary stage of the ceasefire settlement.
Nearly all of Gazans really feel that the sound of gunfire might quickly fall silent, however the sounds of struggling, remorse and ache will proceed for generations to come back.
#Rushdi #Abualouf #Hamas #hasnt #achieved #goals #claims #victory
, 2025-01-16 18:13:00
