More than 100 days after the eruption of the Israel-Hamas war, Palestinians stand unwavering in their support for Hamas and their unyielding hostility to the Jewish State.
Contrary to the hopes and expectations of leading Israeli political analysts, Hamas remains a formidable force with public support among Palestinians. The guerrilla tactics employed by Hamas fighters, coupled with their resilience, have generated admiration, both for Hamas and other fundamentalists like the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
The Israeli army claims it has destroyed more than 50% of Hamas’ military capability, including tunnels and rocket launch sites, as well as targeting 17 out of 24 battalions of elite commandos. Despite the evident harm to the physical infrastructure and the fact that Hamas leaders are forced to lead clandestine lives -- all of them are now in hiding at various sites in Gaza -- Palestinians are hesitant to openly challenge what remains of the governing authority.
“The Hamas leadership, headed by Yahya Sinwar, is still functioning, and it would appear that it is still managing to make decisions and to influence events in the Gaza Strip,” a former deputy head of Israel’s National Security Council commented on Sunday. Colonel Talya Lankri added, “Hamas operatives and weaponry are still active in the Gaza Strip, mainly in the central and southern parts. Continuous fighting will therefore still be required to complete the achievements, and to prevent Hamas from recovering and attempting to rebuild forces.”
Fear is the silent enforcer in this dynamic. Every individual on the Palestinian street understands that, despite enduring significant damage, Hamas survives as an undeniable reality and potent force in both Gaza and the West Bank. War has literally paralysed the Hamas civilian government, which is unable to provide basic services like education, health, and even garbage collection. Yet, in a striking paradox, Hamas militants continue to engage in an unprecedented form of guerrilla warfare, capturing the attention and admiration of Palestinians.
Images of Hamas fighters stealthily approaching Israeli tanks and depositing explosives with their bare hands has become routine. Palestinian families watch and admire these pictures of the young fighters who boldly showcase their identities as they launch their daring attacks. How different this is from the days of the 1972 Munich Olympics when masked Palestinians first kidnapped and then killed Israeli athletes.
At the time, Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir had ordered her Mossad secret service to identify and hunt down every single Palestinian militant involved in the killings. Over the next 20 years, Mossad managed to identify and then kill every single Palestinian connected to the Munich massacre. Pure revenge triumphed, justified by a strategy of reinforcing Israel’s deterrence capability.
History is in the process of repeating itself after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s promise to obliterate Hamas leaders responsible for what happened last October when thousands of Hamas supporters breached the Gaza border and engaged in an orgy of violence that included killing 1,200 Israelis and injuring more than 5,000 others. Warning that the conflict could last “many months”, Netanyahu characterised Hamas as “monsters who invaded the State of Israel and massacred us.”
Israel went to war with two self-declared goals. One was to destroy Hamas’ military and government capabilities. The other was to rescue the 240 hostages (the vast majority were Jews) including women, children and the elderly. Out of those 240 hostages, so far only 100 have been released, thanks to international mediation and not because of Israel’s military operation. Only one young woman was rescued by Israeli security forces.
Israel has not fully eradicated the Hamas regime, with its key leaders such as Yahya Sinwar and Mohammed Deif, still at large. They are the acknowledged masterminds of the October 7 assault that has traumatised the
whole of Israel.
Small wonder therefore that most Palestinians, according to public opinion polls, remain supportive of Hamas and other Islamic fundamentalist groups. They view Israel’s failure to achieve its two goals as a resounding victory and an inspiration for a younger generation determined to pursue the fight against the Jewish State, no matter what the cost.
Challenging Hamas is perilous. Palestinian dissenters risk being branded as traitors. Street logic dictates it is foolish to attack your own side in the middle of war. Fear is just as important. Hamas has a history of intolerance and violence against critics. Back in 2007, when Hamas launched its successful coup in Gaza, some members of the Palestinian Authority were publicly lynched, others were thrown from rooftops.
In stark contrast to the political silence among Palestinians, Israelis engage in vigorous debates questioning the sense in endless retaliation against Hamas. Not least among their concerns is their fear of an escalating war rapidly extending to a wider regional conflict, resulting in ever more casualties.
The northern border with Lebanon is ablaze, forcing more than 80,000 Israelis to flee their homes as Hezbollah militants step up their rocket attacks. Further south in Yemen, the Houthis, another Iran-backed militia, have fired rockets at Israel and disrupted international shipping. Following US and British air strikes against Yemen, the Houthis are more defiant, vowing retaliation against the US, Britain and Israel. They have the active support of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah who says the sea has become a “theatre of fighting, missiles, drones and warships.”
The Houthis accuse Israel of committing genocide and say all their attacks are aimed at supporting the Palestinians living in Gaza. They are part of an emerging axis consisting of Iran, Houthis, Hezbollah and Hamas, as well as Muslim Shia groups in Iraq and Syria, ready to take on Israel and all its international supporters. Ranged against this axis is an active coalition led by the US and consisting of Israel, Britain, Germany, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Bahrain. South Africa, which has accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza has taken it to the International Court of Justice.
What started off last October as a conflict limited to Israel versus Hamas has ballooned into a stand-off involving multiple actors. With no end in sight to the war in Gaza, the potential
for further violence and bloodshed looms as concessions seem unlikely, casting an ominous shadow over an uncertain future.
(The writer is a former Foreign Editor, Deccan Herald, a former
Middle East correspondent of the London Observer, and the author of Bullets and Bylines)
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