How Israel Gave Hamas Its Victory

Two years have passed since the October massacre, the day that became a symbol of the collapse of security, leadership, and the Israeli illusion of “unassailable military superiority.”

The events and their consequences clearly point to a harsh truth: Israel, with its own hands, granted Hamas its victory—not only in the military sense, but primarily in consciousness, policy, and Israel’s relationship with the world. Here are the reasons for its victory.

The following does not justify, forgive, or mitigate Hamas’s crimes in any way. Hamas is a murderous, cruel organization that harmed civilians, kidnapped, massacred, and brought disaster upon Israelis and Palestinians alike. But precisely because of this, the harsh truth must be told: Israel, in its response, in its policy, in the blindness of its leaders, and in the illusion of power it held, granted Hamas its greatest achievement. Not a moral victory, not a military victory in the usual sense, but a cognitive, political, and historical victory—a victory born from Israel’s failure to understand the true battlefield.

1. The Collapse of Deterrence and Operational Failure

Hamas’s attack on the October massacre day was carried out uninterrupted for many hours, leading to deep enemy penetration into Israeli territory, widespread system failures, massacre and captivity of hundreds of civilians and soldiers—and the complete defeat of the defense forces.

This is the most severe military failure in the history of the state, breaking the foundations of public trust in the army and the security system.

2. The Collapse of the State of Israel’s Status in the Middle East

The war in Gaza again removed Israel from the regional consensus.

The Abraham Accords and normalization moves with Arab countries halted, and the organized Arab world returned to a state of alienation and opposition.

Israel, which sought to be a unifying factor in the new Middle East, became a pariah and a subject of ridicule.

3. The Whitewashing of Hamas on the International Stage

The indiscriminate bombings, humanitarian destruction, and thousands killed in Gaza caused a sharp reversal in consciousness: the IDF, once considered “the most moral army in the world,” is now seen by the world as a pariah army, tainted by war crimes.

Meanwhile, the horrors in Gaza whitewashed Hamas’s crimes—a murderous terrorist organization—and turned it into a body perceived by many worldwide as a “resistance fighter” whose actions are justified in light of the Israeli army’s crimes.

4. The Failure of Military Pressure

The belief that “military pressure will bring the release of the hostages” was disproven (long ago).

Only political action brought the release of live hostages, while continued bombings caused the death of many of them and tens of thousands of innocent people.

Military power turned from a lever of deterrence into a moral and psychological obstacle.

5. International Isolation and Lack of Legitimacy

The continuation of the war, the images from Gaza, and the many casualties caused Israel to become an almost pariah state in every international forum.

In many countries, politicians who cooperated with Israel lost their standing, and the global public turned its back on a state that until recently was a symbol of moral steadfastness, culture, and wisdom.

6. The Economic Price—Loss of Power

The war dragged Israel into a deep economic pit:

A wave of arms restrictions, threats of sanctions, damage to Israel’s security legitimacy, a sharp decline in foreign investments, and a burden of hundreds of billions on the state budget.

Israel, once an innovative and growing economy, found itself sinking in debts, an economic pit, budget overload, broad economic risk, and damage to investments.

7. A Cognitive Victory and a New Goal: A Palestinian State

Ironically, the destruction and devastation in Gaza created a new reality in which the world demands that Israel recognize a Palestinian state—not as a result of Hamas’s pressure, but because of the Israeli government’s erroneous decisions.

Thus, ironically, it was Israel’s actions that accelerated Hamas’s political goal.

Thus arose the terrible absurdity: Hamas launched its attack out of evil, cruelty, and murderous fundamentalism—but Israel, instead of isolating it, exposing its crimes, returning the hostages, and establishing a broad moral front against it, chose a path that expanded the circle of blood, eroded its legitimacy, and turned itself in the eyes of many in the world from the victim into the accused.

This is the core of Hamas’s victory: not that it overcame Israel by its power, but that Israel overcame itself in its lack of wisdom.

In conclusion, Hamas’s victory did not stem from the strength of its weapons, but from its deep understanding of Israeli society: fear, revenge, and blind force within it became self-destruction.

Israel, on the other hand, lost what was the source of its strength—faith. Faith that was replaced by the illusion of power, by a sword that became a source of false security and the foundation of policy.

But this sword repeatedly failed and left us wounded in body and spirit.

With hope for days when the people of Israel will renew its innocent faith, and will no longer follow arrogance and the deception of lies—but rather truth, righteousness, and peace.