The Endless War of Attrition and the Strategic Victory of Hamas

There seems to be no end to the surprise Israel suffered under Netanyahu on October 7, 2023. It wasn’t just the sudden Palestinian Operation Al-Aqsa Flood from the Gaza Strip. Equally surprising for Netanyahu is the ever-lasting war that never ends. The longer the war lasts, the more nervousness grows in the ranks of Tel Aviv, as now the army with the most powerful air force in the Middle East is in danger of turning into a “paper tiger”, since it is unable not only to win but also imposes elementary conditions. The situation in the field proves the truth of the word.
Beyond a sort of temporary tactical victory for Netanyahu’s army with the aerial razing of above-ground residential and military infrastructure in the Gaza Strip, and the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh and other Hamas leaders, the Palestinian resistance of Hamas and Islamic Jihad it remains today as unscathed and strong as it was a year ago. And all this despite Tel Aviv’s claims that it has supposedly “defeated” Hamas.
Having built the city under the city, Hamas seems invincible until now. In the labyrinthine underground tunnel system of the Strip, the leadership of Hamas under Yahya Sinwar hides its army and munitions. As Israel has not even considered operating in the Gaza Catacombs, it is not in a position to know the number of Palestinian soldiers, the amount of their munitions and their sufficiency in food, medicine and technological support.
The Israeli army, which systematically exterminates mostly Palestinian women and children rather than soldiers, has a superficial and frivolous control of the overland Strip but is unable to consolidate this control, as the Palestinian Resistance, aided by Hezbollah artillery in the north, controls underground the Lane. From the tunnels, Hamas attack the Israeli outposts and rearguards, making any Israeli control of the above-ground Strip precarious.
Today Hamas is still supplied with manpower and material from the tunnels under the Philadelphia Corridor in Rafah, as Tel Aviv has not spotted the majority of them. Therefore, with the data so far, it is estimated that Hamas has the ability to fight for at least one more year.
At the same time, Sinouar optimistically monitors the war on the Lebanese front, as, despite the heavy Israeli bombardment of Beirut and the neutralization of Hassan Nasrallah and other Hezbollah leaders, he observes Hezbollah’s victories so far in the land cross-border battles against the Israeli army which remains fixed on the border line. If this situation continues it seems very difficult for the 250,000 internally displaced Israeli residents to return to northern Israel.
From the above it is now clear that avoiding the unnecessary escalation and expansion of the war, Hamas and Hezbollah in alliance with Iran, the Houthis of Yemen and the Shiite militias of Iraq have involved Israel in an endless war of attrition with ever increasing fronts. .
Today, after a year of multi-front war, Netanyahu without particularly caring about the fate of the Israeli prisoners and without a clear plan, seduced by the attractive strategy of the Palestinians and their allies, involves the Israeli army in new adventures of which it is not clear when and how will disengage. Sinking day by day into the quicksand of Hamas, Netanyahu, who even now continues to reject the truce, has not yet understood that compromise is the only way to end this deadlocked war. As long as it refuses to accept him, the geopolitical balance of power will continue to shift in favor of the Palestinians and their allies in the Middle East, making the Palestinian Resistance the strategic winner.