Israel concedes it may not be able to destroy Hamas

"I would have definitely said" Israel can eliminate Hamas, but not now that the U.S. has "turned its back on Israel," an Israeli intelligence source said

(Image credit: Olivier Laban-Mattei / AFP via Getty Images)

By Peter Weber, The Week US

published 28 March 2024

What happened

Israel has significantly degraded Hamas and reduced its remaining fighters to guerrilla warfare, but the Israel Defense Forces may not be able to destroy the militant group despite five months of brutal war in Gaza, Israeli intelligence officials told Britain's Telegraph on Wednesday.

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The White House, which warns that Israel's heavy destruction and high civilian death toll in Gaza will leave it isolated and fuel an enduring insurgency, said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "agreed to reschedule" a meeting on U.S. alternatives to a full-scale Rafah invasion. Netanyahu canceled the meeting after the U.S. allowed the U.N. Security Council to demand an immediate cease-fire in Gaza.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.