In a lengthy CNN report published on Sunday, the network refers to what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said three months ago, “speaking to citizens who were shaken by a horrific day of attacks launched by Hamas, asserting to himself that the Israeli army would be “Immediately deploy all its strength to destroy Hamas’ capabilities and we will destroy them,” but this goal seems far-fetched now, in light of Israeli statements that the Israeli army is moving to a new phase of its war on Hamas in Gaza “amid indications that its goals are changing as well.”

The network quotes Bilal Saab, associate fellow for the Middle East and North Africa at Chatham House, as saying: “The war record does not appear to be very conducive to military campaigns that seek to eliminate Hamas, the deeply rooted military-political movement.”

Saab said: “The Israeli army leadership is well aware that the most it can do is to severely weaken Hamas’ military capabilities.”

The network claims that Israel has witnessed some successes in this regard; Its forces claim to have killed thousands of Hamas fighters, including some high-ranking members, and dismantled some parts of the movement's vast tunnel network under the Strip, but challenges remain, and the endgame (the war) is far from the horizon, as there are few Countries at war setting war deadlines, Israeli officials have warned of a long war that could stretch across all of 2024 and beyond.

It will unfold before an international community increasingly alarmed by the extraordinary humanitarian crisis and mounting civilian deaths in Gaza, “and as international pressure grows, domestic unease with Netanyahu – an embattled prime minister keen to point to tangible victories – may also grow.”

Saab spoke to the network, explaining the main questions facing the Israeli leadership by saying, “There is a race against time. At what price will this tactical success come, and how much time do the Israelis have to achieve this tactical success without being exposed to greater international anger?”

"This type of mission cannot be completed. We have seen it fail over the years many times," Saab said.

Hamas's influence extends far beyond Gaza, meaning that the group's complete defeat is at least a major ambition for Israel, if it can be achieved at all.

It is noteworthy that in a speech he gave on the occasion of the anniversary of the attacks, Netanyahu reiterated his goals for the conflict: “Eliminating Hamas, returning our hostages and ensuring that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel.” These are goals that experts feel are impossible to achieve, especially since it is not clear whether the leadership of the Israeli army is now placing the elimination of Hamas at its top priority. Israeli media have indicated that the head of Israeli military intelligence, Major General Aharon Haliva, did not address the issue of destroying Hamas when he mentioned military targets in a speech he delivered last Thursday (1/4/2024). ).

Also on Thursday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant revealed plans for the next phase of the war in Gaza, stressing a new combat approach in the north and a continued focus on targeting Hamas leaders suspected of being in the Strip's southern territories.

The third phase will include Israeli army operations in northern Gaza, “raids, destruction of terror tunnels, air and ground activities, and special operations,” according to Gallant, and “this phase may be less intense, but it will take more time,” according to the report, which says, “If the goal is What is more realistic is that despite the severe reduction in Hamas' fighting capabilities, many analysts say that tangible progress has been made in the past three months.

The report attributed Yohanan Plesner, president of the Israel Democracy Institute and former Knesset member for the Kadima party, to CNN, saying, “The definition of success will not be to arrest or kill all Hamas activists, but rather to ensure that Hamas is unable to govern the Gaza Strip effectively. Hamas is an organization like "The army, with command and control centers, regiments and brigades. This command structure is being seriously challenged and dismantled."

It is noteworthy that Netanyahu said last week in a press conference in Tel Aviv that the Israeli army “is fighting with force and new systems above and below the ground,” and claimed that it had killed 8,000 Hamas fighters in Gaza, according to Israeli Army Radio (but CNN could not verify this number). .

The Ministry of Health in Gaza says that nearly 23,000 people have been killed in the Strip since the start of the war, and that about 70% of the dead or wounded are women and children.

Israel believed Hamas had about 30,000 fighters in Gaza before the war began on October 7, the Israeli military told CNN in December. The Israeli army told CNN that the fighters were divided into five brigades, 24 battalions and about 140 companies, each with capabilities that include anti-tank missiles, snipers and engineers, and arrays of missiles and mortars.

Israel also claimed some success in targeting Hamas' tunnel corridors, a complex that is difficult for Israeli army forces to penetrate. The Israeli army released a video this week that it said showed the dismantling of one of the tunnels under Al-Shifa Hospital, the largest medical complex in Gaza, which it accused Hamas of digging.

Last month, it published other videos that it said showed a network of tunnels connecting to the residences and offices of senior Hamas leaders, including Ismail Haniyeh, Yahya Sinwar, and Muhammad Deif, “but the larger goal of finding and killing the most important Hamas leaders in Gaza, remained... “Unattainable for Israel so far.”

Saab said: “This is where intelligence is the master of the situation, and organizations like these replace leaders quite easily, and I do not believe that there is anyone who cannot be replaced in the Hamas movement, and if Israel is able to eliminate the symbolic heads of the organization, who knows whether "That could have a trickle-down effect, especially with people who have military responsibilities."

The new phase of the Israeli war seems unlikely to bring relief to Palestinians trapped in Gaza, where the humanitarian crisis has escalated to extraordinary levels.

But Netanyahu may be more inclined to submit in the face of internal pressure, which has escalated in particular due to the continued capture of more than a hundred hostages taken by Hamas on October 7.

Israel believes 25 hostages are dead and still being held in Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office told CNN on Friday. That leaves 107 hostages from last year's Hamas attack believed to be alive.

The return of these hostages remains a goal in the new phase of the war, but failure to achieve this would lead to intensifying political pressure on the decisive leader, whose popularity among Israelis has declined since October 7.