The recent news of Israel bombing schools and the death of civilians there would seem that Israel was the victor in the conflict in Gaza. Israel with all its military might could have disarmed Hamas and could have had complete control of the Gaza Strip. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided against this and he now enjoys the highest approval ratings.
It is more important, in any conflict, to compare the goals that both sides have set for themselves before the fight begun and what they have accomplished. This time, some would argue that Hamas had won.
Hamas began the war because it was forced to the corner but soon after, Hamas was in control of the time period of the issue by refusing cease-fires repeatedly. Hamas was also able to fire missiles and rockets at Israel territories, regardless of the efforts the Israeli Air Force spent in knocking launch sites out.
Hamas inflicted an urban campaign against the ground forces of Israel around five times and used tunnels to penetrate their territory and established fear. Hamas made Israel pay a great price and Israel finally had to withdraw its ground troops from the Gaza Strip.
Demilitarization of Gaza has become of the goals of Israelites. However, Hamas would never agree to remove weapons unless they were faced with protracted Israelites of the Gaza Strip, and this is something that Mr. Netanyahu would never undertake.
The question is, how exactly did a terrorist guerrilla organization dominate the most powerful army in the Middle East?
They learned lessons and then acted on them. The Hamas first used counterintelligence measures to stay away from the electronic surveillance of Israel. Next, they prepared for an Israel invasion. They replaced their battalion commanders with men who had gone for training in Iran and Lebanon. Last, but not least, Hamas invested in the formation of a complex network of tunnels that made their way to Israeli territory and created units of frogmen to attack the country by sea.
These were big advancements and Hamas definitely surprised Israel. As much as Israel wants to marginalize Hamas, the nation is on the verge of being recognized internationally as an equal party in the Palestinian-Israeli issue.