The war in Gaza is set to wrap up during the coming year and a new governing authority will be put in place to run the war-ravaged enclave, Israel’s ambassador to the European Union told POLITICO.
Haim Regev said the Israel Defense Forces had completed most of their military objectives in Gaza, weakening Palestinian militant group Hamas to the point where it could no longer fight as an organized structure, but now behaved like a guerrilla force.
“Before the war, Hamas was an army with a chain of command, with battalions … Today this military threat does not exist anymore,” he said in a phone interview a day before the one-year anniversary of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks. “We have dismantled most of the battalions … I think this will be the year when we see a new governing structure in Gaza.
“It’s a matter of time. It will happen when all the hostages are released,” he added.
Israeli authorities say they don’t want to remain in control of the Gaza Strip. In a recent interview, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair — who also served as a Middle East peace envoy — said that a third force, neither Israeli nor Palestinian, should help to govern Gaza once fighting ends.
But it’s unclear what authority, if any, Israel would allow to take power in Gaza and would be accepted by the population.
“What kind of force [would take over] this is something we need to determine,” said Regev, adding that the Palestinian Authority — which was in power before Hamas took over — “do not have the power and legitimacy to go back and control there since we didn’t see much from them condemning this massacre.”
Regev added that the EU could play a role after the conflict in policing the so-called Philadelphi Corridor between Gaza and Egypt, with early discussions underway.
Taking stock of Israel’s standing in the world one year after the Oct. 7 attacks in which Hamas killed more than 1,200 Israelis and took some 250 hostage, Regev said he wasn’t worried about Israel militarily. “We are going to prevail and win,” he said.
Even though Israel is now engaged in what authorities there call a “seven-front war,” which includes regional power Iran, Regev said “the last few weeks show Israel is standing strong and fighting back successfully” against Hezbollah in Lebanon, where it killed leader Hassan Nasrallah in an airstrike, as well as against Iran’s proxies in Yemen, Syria and Iraq.
But the Israeli envoy was more concerned about Israel’s standing in what he called the “legitimacy war” his country was fighting to retain support on the global stage.
“In the last months we see that there is a huge erosion in understanding [for Israel’s position]. There is erosion in support. Some member states try to bring their own position onto the EU stage, for several reasons, it doesn’t matter,” he added. “I don’t think Israel is isolated.”
Over the weekend, thousands of people attended demonstrations in Europe and around the world. Some gathered in solidarity with Israel, calling for the release of the remaining hostages, but many more turned out to protest against its military operations.
“I’ve seen demonstrations here, in Brussels and Amsterdam … This worries me much more than what is happening on the ground. We are going to prevail and win,” he added. “But there is a lack of moral clarity: Many people are not understanding this is a war of democracy against radical and extreme forces … This is the battle.”
Asked about outrage over the death toll in Gaza and Lebanon, which now reaches into the tens of thousands, Regev said: “It’s complicated to explain the numbers. When we entered Gaza and Lebanon we faced the same method: They use almost every single civilian infrastructure. We are not fighting against armies. We are fighting against terror groups that are using the local infrastructure, mosques and hospitals.”
Lebanon’s ambassador to the bloc also spoke to POLITICO, voicing dismay over the number of casualties his country was seeing since Israel launched its broad attack against Hezbollah.
“The sheer number of casualties is enormous in any way that you view it,” Fadi Hajali said from his office in Brussels. “For a small country like Lebanon, 10,000 wounded is like 100,000 for a bigger country like Romania.”
As of last Friday, Lebanon’s health ministry said that more than 2,000 people had been killed in Israeli attacks. And the war is “expanding at pace,” Hajali said, with “more and more regions being targeted” and attacks coming from the sea, air and ground.
Asked about the role of Lebanon’s army in the conflict, Hajali said “the people of Lebanon want the Lebanese army to play its full role assuring the stability and security of the country.” However, he added, the force was “overstretched with all the problems it has to face,” and underfunded (the EU is one of its main benefactors, contributing €104 million this year).
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