While Hamas leaders in the Gaza Strip and overseas have compared the outcome of what they referred to as "Operation Sword of Jerusalem" as a "divine victory in the campaign for Jerusalem," the latest round of clashes with the Israel Defense Forces has brought the group a stinging defeat.
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Palestinians in both Gaza and the West Bank were none too happy at the total destruction Hamas brought on the coastal enclave when it decided to launch rockets at Israel's capital on Jerusalem Day. This in addition to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and its repercussions on the regional and global economy and health.
Toppling the Hamas regime wasn't one of Israel's objectives. Yet despite the ceasefire continuing to hold, the head of Hamas' military wing Mohammed Deif has remained underground. It seems he got the message Israel sent Egyptian mediators that it would continue to work to assassinate senior Hamas leaders following the end of Operation Guardian of the Walls.
For now, then, the heads of the terrorist organization's military wing will have to suffice with descriptions of the destruction they brought on Gaza following Israeli airstrikes on multi-story towers in Gaza City.
"I don't think there's been this kind of destruction here since 1948," a resident of Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip who imports and exports computer hardware components for a living told Israel Hayom.
"For 10 days straight, Israeli planes and tanks rained down fire, bombing not just buildings but open areas in an attempt to destroy the tunnels. As a result of the ground moving, entire rooms inside homes collapsed in on themselves. The damages we sustained are terrible, and it will take years to recover. Who is guilty? My role is not to find culprits," he concluded.
To date, Egypt has promised to transfer $500 million toward Gaza's rehabilitation, and Qatar announced it would provide double that to rehabilitate the enclave as well as toward the development of employment initiatives for younger Gazans. The unemployment rate in the terrorist enclave is now approaching 60%.
Arab states, the US administration, various UN aid funds, and a Gaza donor conference will likely ensure hundreds of millions more flow into Gaza. To date, Hamas has had control over every dollar and shekel that entered the territory. Now, however, there are demands for funds designated for Gaza's rehabilitation to go through a designated apparatus of the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah that ensures those funds reach their stated destination and not Hamas.
Will it work? Time will tell. What remains clear is that beyond a shadow of a doubt, the days when Hamas could use those funds as they see fit are over.
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