‘Nearly Impossible’: Retired US General Says Israel Unlikely to Achieve Stated Aim in Gaza
21:35 GMT 29.10.2023 (Updated: 09:23 GMT 05.12.2023)
© AFP 2023 / ARIS MESSINIS
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General Robert Abrams said it’s unlikely Israel will be able to accomplish their purported goal of eliminating Hamas while also protecting Palestinian civilians.
Retired US General Robert Adams sounded a note of pessimism early Sunday when asked by US media for his thoughts on Israel’s ongoing military action in the besieged Gaza Strip.
“I think it’s going to be what I would consider nearly impossible, to destroy Hamas, to eliminate their capability to do harm to Israel and Israeli people, while simultaneously protecting what some people have estimated as to be a million Palestinians who are in harm’s way and they can’t get out of harm’s way,” said Adams in an interview on US television.
Adams noted the difficulty of Israel’s objective given the complex urban terrain of Gaza.
“This is going to be a very difficult task for the Israeli Defense Forces, that the defense that Hamas will put up in that very dense urban terrain, unlike anything that we’ve seen in recent years, is going to require some very siege fighting, and simultaneously trying to ensure that the Israelis do not target unwittingly the locations of the hostages,” said Adams.
“This is going to prove to be a very difficult task and we’ll just have to see how their plan plays out here over the coming days.”
Hamas’ armed wing claimed Thursday that 50 captives being held by the armed group since their October 7 surprise attack have already been killed by Israeli bombing raids in Gaza.
29 October 2023, 09:05 GMT
Families of captives have repeatedly called on the Israeli government to pull back on hostilities over concerns the continued bombardment threatens the lives of their family members – a meeting was held Saturday between the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and captives’ families after threats of protests were raised.
Meanwhile, Netanyahu’s rhetoric appeared to deliberately downplay concerns over protecting Palestinian civilians. The Israeli prime minister referenced scripture in a televised address on Saturday, appearing to compare Palestinians to the Biblical Amalekites, who were systematically killed by the Israelites.
Netanyahu declaring invasion: "You must remember what Amalek has done to you, says our Holy Bible"
— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) October 28, 2023
1 Samuel 15:3
"Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass" pic.twitter.com/5QF9PkGhjJ
Over 8,000 Palestinians have been killed so far in Israeli attacks since October 7, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, while over 20,200 have reportedly been injured. Authorities in Gaza recently released a list of names of the dead in response to speculation from US President Joe Biden and others that the Hamas-run government in Gaza inflated death counts. United Nations officials have noted death tolls from the Gaza Health Ministry have proven to be “credible” in the past.
Recently, speculation has emerged suggesting the number of civilian deaths attributed to Hamas in their surprise attack may be inflated.
Israeli military forces have historically operated under a controversial policy, known as the “Hannibal Directive,” of killing Israelis at threat of being taken captive rather than allowing them to be seized as hostages by enemy forces. Eyewitness reports have stated IDF forces engaged in indiscriminate shelling of buildings, killing Israelis and Hamas fighters alike.
On Saturday, an essay was published in US media by an Israeli activist also warning about the high potential for civilian casualties amidst Israel’s military operation in Gaza. Former IDF soldier Benzion Sanders noted the Israeli government invaded Gaza in 2014 with a similarly stated goal of destroying Hamas. The military incursion failed to eliminate the armed group, and in the years since Hamas has remained a useful justification for Israel’s unyielding stance against Palestinian interests.
