Hamas still ‘dominant actor’ in Gaza; no strategic direction for Israel: UK media

UK media reports say despite the relentless 16-month genocidal war on Gaza, some Israeli analysts acknowledge that Israel has failed to achieve the so-called goals of the war, saying the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas “is still ruling.”

In an article published by the Financial Times, Michael Milshtein, a former Israeli intelligence officer, was cited as saying that the war “didn’t force Hamas’s collapse or the hostages’ release.”

There were “tactical achievements, but no strategic direction. Hamas is still ruling, and still the dominant actor in Gaza. Period.”

The remarks came as Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to meet US President Donald Trump on Tuesday at the White House. The meeting is expected to discuss whether the temporary ceasefire agreed last month will become a permanent one.

The deal between Israel and Hamas was reached last month after over 15 months of the regime's genocidal war on the strip, which claimed the lives of nearly 47,500 Palestinians, mostly women and children.

The regime was forced to accept the ceasefire after having failed to realize any of its wartime objectives, including freeing the captives, “eliminating” the Gazan resistance, and causing forced displacement of Gaza’s entire population to neighboring Egypt.

The deal consists of three stages, with the first stage, which is currently underway, scheduled to last 42 days.

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Netanyahu repeatedly said the war was aimed at destroying Hamas in Gaza, and returning all the Israeli captives held by the resistance fighters during the al-Aqsa Flood Operation in October 2023.

“But it is clearer than ever that those aims are almost certainly incompatible. No sooner had the fighting ended, kick-starting the process that will eventually return 33 hostages, than Hamas gunmen emerged to reassert control over the coastal territory, parading their weapons and organizing mass rallies,” the Financial Times said.

According to the article, Netanyahu’s often-promised “total victory” was a “chimera.”

Next week, international mediators, including the US, Qatar and Egypt, will begin talks over the details of the next phase of the deal.

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