In this connection, Hamas leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar, who these days makes up a nightmare to Israeli regime, on Monday sent a long important message to the head and members of the political office of Hamas, outlining the achievements of the movement against the Israeli occupation to update the world about the realities of war.
Sinwar emphasized in his message that Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, have fought a fierce and unprecedented battle against the Israeli occupying forces, and the enemy’s army has suffered heavy casualties and material losses.
“During the ground war with the enemy, Qassam Brigades targeted at least 5,000 Zionist soldiers and officers, killing one-third of them and seriously injuring another one-third, and permanently disabling another one-third. Also, 750 enemy military vehicles have been completely or partially destroyed,” most important part of his message said.
Sinwar maintained that Qassam fighters “crushed the army of the occupying regime” and will continue on their way to crush this army and will never surrender to the conditions of the invaders. He also lauded the resistance of the Palestinian people in Gaza, saying: “These people are a clear example of sacrifice, heroism, bravery, chivalry and solidarity, and it is the duty of the political leadership of the resistance to quickly heal the wounds of our nation and strengthen their resistance.”
Sinwar’s message in the middle of fierce battles in Gaza is examinable from various aspects. It is an important message to the leaders of the resistance and the public opinion of the world that, contrary to the claims of the Tel Aviv, Hamas fighters have dealt heavy blows to the Israeli enemy. It highlights the invalidity of the Israeli claims that exaggerate about military gains in Gaza.
The Israeli army has announced that only 489 soldiers have been killed since the beginning of the Gaza war, but figures provided by Sinwar on the number of enemy deaths are much higher than the claimed Israeli casualties.
Earlier, Israeli media had said that more than 5,000 army soldiers have been transferred to hospitals in the occupied territories, and more than 2,000 of them have suffered severe disabilities and some have received serious injuries. Even the director of the military cemeteries of the Israeli regime had earlier disclosed that they bury a soldier every hour, showing that the official figures and those of army do not match.
This means that the message of Sinwar discredited hardline government of Benjamin Netanyahu among the Israeli and global public opinion and at the same time showed off the defense capabilities of Palestinian resistance forces. Since there is no precise information about the Israeli losses, Sinwar published what the Palestinian fighters have so far gained on the battle against the Israeli forces.
According to Israeli media report, a number of wounded soldiers were in critical condition and probably died lately. With this number of Israeli deaths, Qassam forces have killed nearly 2,000 Israeli soldiers in Gaza.
Failure of Israeli propaganda
The announcement of the number of Israeli casualties by Sinwar is very painful for the occupation leaders and especially for the Israeli citizens who are fooled into thinking that the Israeli forces have made huge gains as the army imposes a tight censorship regime about the casualties.
Sinwar’s message may indicate that Palestinian groups will not accept the terms of a temporary humanitarian ceasefire offered by Tel Aviv. The large number of Israeli casualties shows that Qassam forces have high strength on the battlefield and have not shown any weakness against the heavily armed Israeli military and dealt heavy blows to the Israelis in the third month of the largely unequal battle.
From another aspect, the message lays bare the fake nature of the Israeli media propaganda that feigns success in confrontation of Hamas and reveals to the Israeli citizens the realities of war as Netanyahu government over the past 80 days not only has failed to release all of the prisoners, but also killed some of them in airstrikes. Odds are that disclosure of the battleground realities will put the cabinet on heavier pressures from public and opposition who yearn for its collapse.
An example of falsehood of Israeli claims about battleground achievements is the scandalous retreat of Golani elite brigade from Gaza who not only made no gains, but also 80 of their fighters were killed and injured. Also, some of the army paratroopers were placed on mandatory leave in an effort to lower military casualties.
The message of Hamas victory and Israeli defeat is not only published by Sinwar, rather, some of the Israeli forces coming back from Gaza have revealed the realities of war which are in total conflict with the engineered narrative of the government and army.
According to Al-Arabiya news network, Avichay Lowee, a forefront Israeli soldier admitted that the number of deaths is much higher and tens have been disabled while a large number we left to their own. He added that he pees himself at night for the fear. Despite returning from the front lines, he said Hamas RPG fire still reverberates in his ears and he smells the foulness of decaying corpses.
The commanders of the Gaza resistance have repeatedly announced that they will defend their land and cause as long as the war continues. The fact that Hamas is not willing to agree to a ceasefire under any conditions shows that the Palestinian groups have the upper hand against the occupiers and they are the party who set the conditions for their enemy at the negotiating table.
The release of Israeli prisoners in return for release of all Palestinian prisoners and the complete cessation of war are the conditions that Hamas set for a ceasefire.
On the other hand, Sinwar’s message also encourages the people of Gaza and the West Bank not to worry, because the resistance forces will defend them and their land against the Israeli occupation.
Exile instead of assassination
In such a situation that the Palestinian groups are resisting the Israeli army, Tel Aviv authorities have new dreams for the leaders of Hamas in Gaza. The Times of Israel newspaper claimed on Monday, quoting informed sources, that Tel Aviv is mulling the option of not assassinating Sinwar and Qassam commander Mohammad Deif and granting them immunity to move to another country in return for the release of Israeli prisoners.
Citing Israeli sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity, this newspaper wrote that the security and political commanders are entertaining the matter. But to this moment, no concrete proposal has been made in this regard, and Tel Aviv continues to focus on its war agenda which is destruction of Hamas leadership and its control over Gaza.
Using old tactics, Israeli media and officials are trying to deceive the public opinion and insinuate that the leaders of Hamas are in a weak position and are looking for a way to escape from the war. But Hamas leaders know these trick and Sinwar’s message from the heart of the battlegrounds shows that the Palestinian resistance knows how to foil this psychological warfare.
New Israeli plan for Hamas leaders after weeks of empty threats to assassinate its commanders is indicative of failure of Sinwar assassination scenario as Israelis are yet to get information about his hideout.
The Israelis think that with the exile scenario, they can create a gap between the resistance leaders and brave fighters of Hamas and draw the resistance soldiers pessimistic about their commanders, but this is a cheap illusion because the resistance leaders are not the ones who want to leave the resistance groups to save their lives. In the past two months, they have proven that they have no fear of martyrdom and sacrificing their lives in defense of the their cause and liberation of the lands of Palestine, and they count every moment to martyrdom as they believe that every drop of blood spilled for Palestine can push Israel a step closer to collapse.
Many Israelis are aware of this fact. Michael Koubi, a former Shin Bet official who interrogated Sinwar for 180 hours in prison, says that Tel Aviv knows well that Sinwar has faith in the goal of annihilation of Israel.
“Even he will fight. I’m sure that Yahya Sinwar wouldn’t leave the Gaza Strip. He will stay until the last bullet,” he said.
This means that such a character will not be deceived by Israelis and the weaker the enemy, the more resolute he will grow in his confrontation of occupiers.
Actually, resistance commanders try to fight the enemy to maintain
the spirit of sacrifice and fighting among the Palestinians for
liberation of their lands. Certainly, now all in Gaza and the West Bank
are aligned with the resistance option and find armed struggle the only
way leading to liberation. The senior Israeli officials’ admission that
Hamas is not indestructible and its thoughts are entrenched among the
Palestinians stem from the movement’s pro-liberation struggle logic,
and, therefore, the enemy has no choice but to yield to the ironclad
resolve of Palestinians.
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