From North to South, ‘Israel’ isolated, cornered, and dealt blows

Ahmad Karakira
Al Mayadeen English

“Israel’s” actions and numerous violations since October 7 have dealt the occupation entity mighty blows, one of which is that the world, including its allies, can no longer tolerate its crimes, at least nominally.

“Israel” is losing the battle of public opinion as its ongoing atrocities against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are being exposed daily, reflected in a plummeting approval rate of its actions by citizens of its biggest ally, the United States.

A March survey conducted by Gallup found that the majority of people in the US (55%) now disapprove of “Israel’s” actions in Gaza, compared with 45% in November 2023, while the approval percentage has significantly dropped from 50% to 36%.

This comes as the Israeli occupation forces have so far killed almost 39,000 people since the start of the genocidal war on Gaza on October 7, 2023.

But the results of the aforementioned survey are not just figures posted online. In fact, they can be attributed to “Israel’s” diplomatic, legal, and military failure in the now-eight-months war.

“Israel’s” actions and numerous violations since October 7, including targeting civilians, schools, hospitals, and aid workers and preventing the flow of aid into Gaza, have backfired and dealt heavy blows to the occupation entity, one of which is that the world, including its allies, can no longer tolerate these crimes, at least nominally.

And despite Meta’s repeated attempts to censor pro-Palestine content on Facebook and Instagram that exposes the massacres committed by the Israeli occupation forces, footage documenting “Israel’s” crimes and the suffering of the Palestinian people in Gaza has taken over the social media platforms.

Scenes coming out of Gaza contributed to spreading awareness among a wide segment of the West, especially the youth. This awareness culminated in the eruption of a massive worldwide wave of pro-Palestine student protests and encampments that took US and European universities by surprise, calling for an end to the ongoing genocide and Western military, diplomatic, and financial support for “Israel”.

The scope of violence that prevailed alongside this war also prompted Norway, Ireland, and Spain to officially recognize a Palestinian state, Turkey to cut all trade with “Israel”, and Colombia to cut diplomatic ties with the Israeli occupation entity. Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer even called in March for "Israel" to hold new elections in a rare example of harsh criticism from a senior US official of the Israeli leadership's handling of the war on Gaza.

In the narrative battle, the Western media machine hasn’t succeeded in turning the events in favor of “Israel” either. Unverified media reports published by The New York Times in an attempt to demonize the Palestinian Resistance by alleging that its fighters raped Israeli women and killed and beheaded babies during Operation Al-Aqsa Flood on October 7 have been debunked by Israeli media themselves, with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres most recently placing the Israeli occupation's military on a global list of offenders who have committed abuses against children.

In addition, much-needed funds by donors to the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) have been partially restored after “Israel” failed to provide evidence of the agency’s staff members's involvement with Hamas.

Internationally, “Israel” has ignored a UN Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and defied an order by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to halt military attacks on the southern city of Rafah and do everything it could to prevent acts of genocide in Gaza, showing its true colors as an occupation entity that gives no regard to international and humanitarian law.

In the wake of the continuation of the Israeli genocidal war on Gaza, a dozen countries have so far joined the case filed by South Africa before the ICJ against “Israel”.

The International Criminal Court’s top prosecutor even applied for arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Security Minister Yoav Gallant over war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the Israeli occupation forces in Gaza, including willful killing, starvation, and inhumane acts.

Militarily, “Israel’s” failure to achieve its declared goals of the war, including retrieving captives held by the Resistance in Gaza and the reality-divorced goal of eliminating the Hamas movement, has taken a huge toll on the Israeli internal front, with the families of the captives running out of patience and calling for the resignation of Netanyahu's government over its continuing flops. The Resistance factions have published footage of their fighters carrying out operations against military targets and launching rockets toward Israeli settlements from the exact same places that the Israeli occupation military had claimed to have annihilated the Resistance.

On the northern front of occupied Palestine, intensified top-tier attacks launched by the Lebanese Resistance group Hezbollah against Israeli military targets and settlements have only added insult to injury, and in many cases, have been considered its own war front.

Since Hezbollah started its operations on October 8, 2023, in support of Gaza, more than 60,000 Israelis have been evacuated from their settlements in the North under the fire of the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon, with a recent survey conducted by Tel Hai Academic College showing that 40% of these settlers are contemplating not returning even after the war ends.

Hezbollah’s heavy rocket and drone attacks have pushed some within the Israeli occupation government and military to advocate for a stretch in the confrontation and a war on Lebanon. But Israeli experts have cautioned that "Israel" lacks the capability to defeat Hezbollah and destroy its hundreds of thousands of missiles and drones, warning that the occupation entity would lose the war with Hezbollah from the very first day, amid the Israeli Air Force's failure to detect and intercept the Lebanese group’s drones and rockets.

Now, “Israel” has become isolated and cornered, its allegations have been debunked, and it does not have an exit strategy except for ending the genocidal war it waged on Gaza, withdraw its occupation forces from the Strip, and sit down for talks on a prisoner exchange deal with the Palestinian Resistance.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Text & Image: Al Mayadeen English. AWIP: http://www.a-w-i-p.com/index.php/aR2Y