Hamas wins

Hamas wins
By Alex Wieseltier

The title itself may sound strange. After all, three-quarters of Gaza lies in ruins. Two-thirds of Hamas armed forces are neutralized. Most of the Hamas tunnels are destroyed.
Only the last nest of terror remains - Rafach. All you need to do is tidy it up, and that's it.
So why do I write that Hamas is winning? Because it is a political truth.
Because the military action to destroy Hamas was too slow and is still not finished.
Because Israel's military action was hampered by the political forces of the world from the very beginning. Because the world's political support only included the issue of being kept by Hamas hostages.
The world has never condemned Hamas' crimes.
In the past, there were periods when thousands of rockets were fired at Israel from Gaza, and the world did not react. The response only began when Israel responded "disproportionately" by bombing the sites from which the rockets were fired. Then, the world played a negotiator between terrorists and Israel, which led to a "ceasefire", i.e. Israel stopped the retaliation, and Hamas had time to prepare a new batch of rockets.
In fact, the world has never cared about what happens in Gaza. The world didn't really care whether there was democracy and free elections in Gaza. Why should the world care about this when no country in this region, apart from Israel, cares about democracy or any civil rights?
The world has paid (and is still paying) to keep Gaza the way it is. The UN's UNRWA received (and still receives) billions of dollars to keep the Gaza people as refugees for more than 70 years, extending this status to newly born generations.
The world did not want to see that schools funded by UNRWA taught Gazans from childhood not how to live in peace but how to hate and kill. The world did not want to see that the funds transferred to Gaza were intercepted by Hamas and used not for the development of Gaza but to escalate terrorist activities.
It would seem that the Hamas' October 7 atrocities woke up the world. That the world finally understood that the nest of terrorism has to be destroyed once and for all. That all progressive forces will support Israel in its fight against Hamas' terrorism. Indeed, for some time, voices of regret could be heard over the Hamas massacre and the fate of the hostages held by Hamas. Already then, the pro-Palestinian left was organizing rallies accusing Israel and supporting "Palestine freedom fighters", chanting "From the river to the sea..." But such a reaction was to be expected, although its scope was surprisingly large.
Things got worse when Israel entered Gaza to destroy Hamas. Very few were interested in the several hundred-kilometer network of Hamas tunnels, which must have cost hundreds of millions of dollars. No one condemned Hamas for using hospitals, schools, and apartment buildings to stockpile weapons and fire rockets at Israel. No one demanded that Hamas should unconditionally release the hostages. Most of the world's press seemed to be waiting for every Israeli mistake, publishing unverified information provided by Hamas.
As the Israeli offensive in Gaza progressed, the world became increasingly concerned about the fate of the Gazans. No one is surprised why Egypt hermetically sealed its border with Gaza, from where medical aid and food could be delivered unimpeded or where Gazans could wait until the end of the conflict between Israel and Hamas. However, there is more and more talk about the tragic situation of the Gaza population and the civilian victims of the conflict and the need to stop hostilities.
When Hamas caused the massacre on October 7, they knew very well what they were doing. Hamas counted on a violent reaction from Israel. And they got it. Hamas hoped Gaza overground would be destroyed. Hamas counted on civilian losses in Gaza. Because Hamas doesn't care about civilians. Because they have the entire humanities world to worry about the fate of the civilian population in Gaza.
It's the world that wants a ceasefire. The world demands nothing from Hamas. But the world demands that Israel should negotiate with Hamas terrorists.
The world does not blame Hamas for the situation in Gaza. The world blames Israel for this. Israel is supposed to take care of supplying food and medicine to Gaza, but the world does not care that Hamas decides who will receive this food and medicine.
The world is not demanding that Hamas leave Gaza. It is the Israeli troops who are to leave it.
What does it mean? This means that Hamas will not be eliminated, and Gaza will continue to be a hotbed of terrorism.
This means Hamas won. That sooner or later, an attack similar to October 7 will happen again. And it will be even more monstrous. But the world didn't seem to want to see it.
Even worse, the world wants to reward Hamas and the Palestinians, the majority of whom supported Hamas and its murderous attack on October 7. Because as a reward, the world wants to recognize the Palestinian state. Spain has recently joined this group, and its Prime Minister informed the international press about it.
No one wants to hear that this "Palestinian state" has never recognized Israel and that unilateral recognition of a state whose majority of inhabitants supports Hamas and the murder of Israelis will not solve the Middle East conflict but will only lead to even greater bloodshed.
But the world probably won't care. Because it will be the Israeli blood.