Arabic version: رأي الجزيرة يقيّم أهداف إسرائيل من حرب غزة

According to Al Jazeera, an opinion article by Refaat Ibrahim argues that Israel has not translated its military superiority in Gaza into the political outcomes it sought. The article, published on October 7, 2026, describes three years since Hamas’s attack on Israel and the ensuing war, which it characterises as genocidal.

Ibrahim writes that Israel’s stated objectives included freeing captives, eliminating Palestinian resistance, imposing security control over Gaza and establishing an alternative administration. He says all captives have been freed, but that the Israeli army freed eight of the 250 taken to Gaza and recovered the bodies of another 12, while most were released through diplomacy and negotiations with Hamas.

The article says Hamas remains in control of parts of Gaza despite Israeli military operations and the killing of many of its leaders. It also states that Israel occupies 60 percent of the Gaza Strip but has not launched a major operation to take the remaining territory. Ibrahim further writes that efforts by Israel and the United States to create a Board of Peace and an alternative Gaza administration have largely failed, with an administrative committee yet to enter the territory.

Addressing displacement, the article says Israel has used repeated displacement, starvation, destruction of homes and infrastructure, and “voluntary departure” schemes to encourage Palestinians to leave Gaza. It says the majority of Palestinians have indicated they want to remain, while some people have returned from Egypt. The article argues that Israel faces a “day after” problem: it can inflict destruction but cannot create a political reality that fulfils its aims.

Ibrahim also points to international criticism of Israel. He cites an International Criminal Court arrest warrant for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, a walkout during Netanyahu’s UN General Assembly speech last month, and a Pew Research survey across 36 countries in which 67 percent of adults viewed Israel unfavourably. The article notes that its views are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.