DayofPal– The Hebrew newspaper Haaretz reported that the “Gideon’s Chariots” operation carried out by the Israeli occupation army in the Gaza Strip turned into a major failure that cost the Israeli occupation both politically and financially, without achieving the objectives declared by war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu.
According to the newspaper, the cost of the operation reached approximately $7.3 billion and resulted in the death of 40 Israeli soldiers. However, the outcomes were entirely contrary to what the Israeli occupation had declared.
Hamas hardened its stance instead of backing down and forced the Israeli government to reconsider a comprehensive deal that would include the release of all prisoners in exchange for ending the aggression and proposing disarmament in Gaza.
The newspaper pointed out that the operation, led by five military divisions, failed to achieve its goals and instead contributed to creating a politically pressured environment both domestically and internationally against Israel.
The scenes emerging from Gaza triggered a “political tsunami,” leading to a growing international wave of recognition for the State of Palestine, along with academic and commercial decisions in the West to cease cooperation with Israel, resembling a gradual boycott.
In this context, the paper recalled Netanyahu’s statements during the early months of the war, where he repeatedly claimed he wanted Gaza to become a “boring subject” to the world.
However, the situation has completely reversed, and Gaza has become a focal point of global attention, particularly due to increasing scenes of hunger and humanitarian collapse. This even prompted former U.S. President Donald Trump to say: “There is real hunger, and that can’t be faked.”
The paper confirmed that recognition of the operation’s failure is gradually taking shape within Israel, especially as the financial burdens of reserve forces increase.
The number of soldiers jumbed from 50,000 to about 100,000, costing around $584 million per month, doubling the allocations originally approved in the budget.
These burdens come in addition to the cost of Operation “People Like a Lion” carried out by the Israeli army in Iran, which amounted to $6.42 billion. This has further strained the public treasury and caused major disruptions in the structure of the 2025 national budget, particularly concerning the military’s financial plan.
According to the newspaper, the losses were not limited to the economic front but extended to academic and commercial relations with Europe. The paper predicted this deterioration would worsen if the political deadlock regarding the captives and halting the war continues.
Haaretz stressed that economic considerations were absent at the beginning of the aggression, but the continued war and its ballooning costs have brought these considerations back to the forefront, especially in light of the positions of far-right ministers, led by Bezalel Smotrich, who called for the complete occupation of the Gaza Strip and the imposition of military rule by force “without any regard.”
The paper noted that Smotrich, despite being the Finance Minister, has not presented any actual financial plan to support such a scenario. His ministry has not held any discussions regarding a potential military rule budget and has merely approved millions of dollars in allocations related to logistics supporting U.S. aid to Gaza.
The newspaper concluded that the continuation of the aggression or moving toward the military rule option will cost Israel a “fantastical” price, noting that economic collapse, declining living standards, and growing political isolation have become real threats, ones that Hamas fully understands, which is why it shows no concern over Israel’s threats to impose military rule on Gaza.
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