As the unjust genocide waged by the Israeli-American coalition against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip enters its fourth month, it has yet to achieve any of its proclaimed objectives. Each party involved, both directly and indirectly, faces dire complexities due to the ongoing consequences and continuous international reactions, with no signs of resolution on the horizon.
The Zionist-American alliance refuses to end the war before achieving its goals, knowing that anything less would be seen as a resounding defeat. On the other side, the Hamas movement and other resistance factions refuse to surrender. They insist on confronting the Zionist army, inflicting heavy costs despite sustaining significant losses among civilians, structures, and infrastructure. But is there a way out of this crisis and the predicaments it has created?
Awaiting an Exit
Despite expectations from the Zionist-American leaders that their war on the Gaza Strip could last a year or more to eliminate Hamas and the Palestinian resistance and recover captives, the military, humanitarian, political, and public fallout has entangled all parties directly and indirectly in complicated challenges and dilemmas. The major players facing these predicaments include:
The Zionist Entity’s Quandary
The Zionist war council has failed miserably in achieving its objectives throughout the one hundred days of conflict, even though it has spared no military and security efforts. The impressive operational readiness of the Palestinian resistance and the legendary steadfastness of the Palestinian people against the genocidal warfare waged by the Israeli-American coalition on Gaza have played the most considerable role in this failure.
This has plunged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his war council into a multifaceted dilemma: military, political, economic, and public, shaking confidence in the military leadership, tarnishing its international reputation along with that of its equipment and intelligence capabilities, causing instability in the ruling coalition and government, escalating political and public campaigns against the prime minister, and severely damaging its regional and international image. The coalition also faces extensive economic losses and international image damage.
Netanyahu and his administration are now incapable of winning the war, crushing Hamas and the resistance, freeing captives, forcing Gaza’s residents to leave, or even halting the fire. They are in desperate need of a way out of this impasse.
The American Administration
The full-fledged American support for the Israeli entity in its genocidal war in Gaza and its perseverance in continuing the conflict until its goals are met have resulted in substantial political, legal, humanitarian, and ethical losses. These losses have plunged the administration into a complex dilemma with its allies, its people, and adversaries, causing a significant drop in President Biden and the Democratic Party’s popularity and diminishing their chances in the upcoming elections later this year.
The foundations of the global order that President Biden often spoke of have been shattered, especially when contrasted with the U.S. stance on the war in Ukraine versus Gaza. This dilemma has led the American administration to refuse a ceasefire, even when such a demand takes precedence both domestically and internationally.
Hamas and the Palestinian Resistance
Hamas and the Palestinian resistance have achieved stunning feats and extraordinary heroism against the Zionist-American coalition, inflicting unexpected severe losses on the Zionist army despite their challenging circumstances and the coalition’s military might. Yet, this ongoing war places Hamas and the resistance factions in a particularly difficult situation due to the heavy price paid by the civilians caught in the crossfire, the destruction of Gaza’s infrastructures, and Israel’s ongoing refusal to yield to the demands for prisoner release negotiations prior to a comprehensive ceasefire.
The Arab States’ Predicament
Arab states are also engulfed in a dilemma. Despite meetings, conferences, shuttle diplomacy, appeals, and pleas, they have been unable to secure a ceasefire or ensure the regulated entry and distribution of humanitarian aid, not to mention military and logistical support to the resistance. This situation places them in a historically embarrassing position before their populations and the international community, which is baffled by their apparent helplessness. Arab states in support of the war against Hamas and the resistance, including the Palestinian Authority, have not been successful in either stopping the war or ensuring the defeat of Hamas and the resistance factions, instead fearing that the latter may emerge stronger post-conflict.
The Resistance Axis
Lebanon’s Hezbollah has maintained a policy of tit-for-tat engagement with the Zionist army, causing some confusion within the latter during their assault on Hamas and the resistance in Gaza, requiring them to redistribute military resources on two fronts instead of just one. However, with the protracted conflict, Hezbollah lacks alternatives to escalate its operations without considering Lebanon’s sensitive internal political climate and the potential for a direct American military response or a repeat of the 2006 war scenario in Beirut.
Similarly, albeit to a lesser degree, Yemeni forces (the Houthis) and Islamic resistance in Iraq conducted military operations in moral solidarity with the Palestinian resistance in Gaza, having little direct impact on the ongoing military operations there or on the stance of the Zionist-American coalition.
The International Community
The global community has failed to stop the war or deliver humanitarian aid effectively to Gaza, exposing the American domination of the current system and the Zionist entity’s disregard for international laws and treaties. This has cornered the United Nations and its institutions into a vast dilemma, stripping them of their credibility, authority, and ability to establish justice and equality, as well as peace and stability, in accordance with international and humanitarian laws.
The Western Countries’ Quagmire
Western countries find themselves in a profound predicament that threatens the very principles and ideological foundations upon which their political systems are based. As the all-encompassing genocide continues with increasingly tragic human consequences, variations in Western stances on the war have begun to emerge, with some countries openly calling for a ceasefire.
The only way out for all parties involved is to halt hostilities, transitioning to a stage that will not exclude Hamas and the Islamic resistance, given their proven abilities in staunch resistance and upholding the rights of their people, who have rallied behind them in an extraordinary display of solidarity.
