An IDF self propelled howitzer fires into the occupied Palestinian territories<\/p>\n
An Israeli general has warned that the regime has failed to meet its \u201cunrealistic\u201d task of \u201cdestroying Hamas\u201d and is sinking into the \u201cmud of Gaza.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n In an opinion piece run by the Ma\u2019ariv newspaper, Yitzhak Barik\u00a0said on Monday that Israel is caught in a \u201cvicious circle\u201d and slammed the regime for ignoring the \u201cfacts on the ground\u201d and \u201cliving in a simulated reality.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAs time goes by, we are further and further from achieving the goals of the war: the eradication of Hamas and the release of the [captives], and we are sinking more and more into the mud of Gaza,\u201d Barik noted.<\/p>\n He said he believed that Israel has no intention of entering Rafah in southern Gaza, where Hamas exercises complete control because it is \u201cterribly crowded\u201d due to Israel\u2019s ever-expanding evacuation orders which have displaced over 2 million Gazans.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is therefore impossible to attack these camps, and in a word, it is impossible to eradicate Hamas there whose soldiers are mixed in with the refugees,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n According to Barik Israel\u2019s failure to eradicate Hamas rule in Rafah and failure to take control of the tunnels under it means that it has not met the main task it set for the war, to \u201coverthrow Hamas rule.\u201d<\/p>\n Therefore, he said, the continuation of the fighting does not add to the achievement of the goals of the war.<\/p>\n \u201cThe opposite is true, this fighting brings us heavy losses every day: from explosives and traps that the [resistance fighters] plant for us and anti-tank missiles that shoot at us,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Barik said that the Israeli regime \u201cmust reconsider\u201d the situation in war.<\/p>\n \u201cSome of the ministers and members of the Knesset also understand that this is an unrealistic goal at this stage,\u201d he said, adding, \u201cbut are afraid to voice their opinion lest they be accused of harming the fighting spirit of the fighters and the \u2026 goal of destroying Hamas.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cA vicious circle is thus created from which there is no way out,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n He warned that in case Israel insists on continuing the war or seizing control of Gaza, it will \u201close the support of the world in general and the support of the USA in the war.\u201d<\/p>\n He added that the \u201cradical approach\u201d will also result in a \u201cwar of attrition\u201d with Lebanon\u2019s Hezbollah which could spill over into the region.<\/p>\n Since the beginning of the war on Gaza on October 7, nearly 22,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli aggression. Palestinians in Gaza are forced to flee on a near-daily basis towards the south as Israel\u2019s intensified assault continues into 2024.<\/p>\n