Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak    (Photo by IRNA news agency)

Tel Aviv, September 8 (RHC)--  The Israeli regime's former prime minister Ehud Barak says Israel is closer to defeat than to achieving a victory in the Gaza Strip, calling Benjamin Netanyahu a "crazy gambler." 

According to a report by Israeli media outlets on Sunday, Barak acknowledged that Israel is faltering in Gaza, lacking both a strategy and a clear plan of action.  He went on to say that there is no benefit in staying in Gaza for several years, emphasizing that Netanyahu is a “crazy gambler” who endangers the lives of Israeli captives.

The former Israeli premier further criticized Netanyahu’s decision to maintain a military presence in the strategic Philadelphi Corridor with Egypt, saying his insistence to stay there is a futile attempt that has nothing to do with the reality on the ground.

Hamas says Netanyahu’s latest comments that Israel must control Philadelphi corridor in Gaza attest to his desperation, and liability for the Gaza truce failure.

Netanyahu insists that Israeli troops must remain in the corridor to prevent weapons being allegedly smuggled into Gaza, a claim rejected by Arab countries as a justification for the usurping regime’s aggressive and provocative policies. 

The latest development comes as retired Israeli Major General Yitzhak Brik said earlier this week that he believes the devastating military campaign of genocide in Gaza will cause the regime to collapse.

Brik said almost 11 months into the regime's military campaign in Gaza, its forces have grown weaker.  He said if Israel continues “fighting in Gaza by raiding and re-raiding the same targets, not only won’t we bring Hamas to collapse, but we’ll collapse ourselves.”

Israel, backed by the United States, launched its campaign of death and destruction in Gaza on October 7th in response to Hamas's Operation al-Aqsa Storm, which caught the Israeli military and intelligence services off guard.

Netanyahu has repeatedly threatened that Hamas must be destroyed before Israel will agree to end its war in Gaza.  The Tel Aviv regime has so far killed at least 40,939 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured 94,616 others.

On Tuesday, an Israeli news outlet wrote that the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas has “rebuilt its capabilities” in the northern Gaza Strip and recruited 3,000 new fighters.

Observers say the resurgence of resistance fighters in areas seized by Israeli forces during the nearly 11-month war in the besieged territory underscores the difficulties Netanyahu faces in meeting his goal to “crush” Hamas.

He is also facing mass protests at home to secure a ceasefire-for-hostages deal with the Palestinian resistance movement.