Beirut, June 21 (RHC)-- A senior Hamas official says remarks by Israeli military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari on the impossibility of eliminating the Palestinian resistance group shows that the regime has failed in its genocidal war on the Gaza Strip.

Ghazi Hamad, a member of Hamas' political bureau, made the remarks on Wednesday after Hagari admitted that the declared aim of destroying Hamas is unattainable.  He described Hagari’s remarks as “a bitter confession and proof of the occupying enemy’s failure in the war on Gaza.”

The Hamas official also said that Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu still persists in continuing the aggression despite knowing that it is “futile and will lead nowhere.”  “The Zionist regime knows that it cannot destroy Hamas even by dropping hundreds of tons of explosives on the people of Gaza,” he added.

In an interview with Israel’s Channel 13 news, Hagari said, “Hamas is an idea, Hamas is a party. It’s rooted in the hearts of the people — whoever thinks we can eliminate Hamas is wrong,” noting that anyone promising this is “throwing sand in the face of the Israeli public."

He further emphasized that it will be "impossible" to return all the Israeli captives being held in Gaza through the offensive, underlining the need for a “scenario” where the captives are returned in another manner.

In response, Netanyahu’s office said in a statement that his so-called security cabinet “has defined one of the war's goals as the destruction of Hamas' military and governing capabilities" and that the Israeli army "is of course obligated to this."

The comments expose a deepening rift between the Israeli military and Netanyahu over the handling of the Gaza war.

Recently, Netanyahu dissolved his war cabinet after opposition leader Benny Gantz withdrew from it.
Gantz said Netanyahu is putting his own personal political considerations ahead of a post-war strategy. He also complained that “fateful strategic decisions are met with hesitancy and procrastination,” calling on the Israeli prime minister to hold an election in the coming months.