Too many people are misguidedly saying “the IOF only wanted to kill civilians, so they did achieve their goals”. So why did they send their army in to take massive losses, rather than continue to bomb from above? Why are you trying to diminish the extent of the IOF’s defeat?
Yes, collective punishment to sate settler bloodlust after the humiliating military defeat of Oct 7th is part of it, but pretending it was the only goal feels like an attempt to save face for the IOF by suggesting they achieved all they wanted (again: why ground invasion, if so?)
This has the same energy as those who say “they knew about Oct 7th and let it happen”. Some just can’t let go of the worship of the IOF & western armies as invulnerable, infallible. They may mean well, but just end up diminishing the resistance’s overwhelming victories.
In both cases there is an intent to criminalise the IOF’s behaviour, but in a manner that absolutely strips away all agency from Palestinians and their resistance, with a familiar rabid insistence on keeping Palestinians framed as “the perfect victims”. It’s disgusting, honestly.
This is what Yahya Sinwar thinks about this:
This is what Yahya Sinwar thinks about this: