Determined People Are Defeating War Technology: Hamas Is Surviving War With Israel. Now It Hopes to Thrive in Gaza Again

"Khaled Meshal, one of Hamas’s most senior officials, said in an interview that the militant group expects to play a decisive role in the enclave when the war is over.

Israel says it has killed thousands of Hamas’s militants, dismantled the command structure of nearly all its battalions and pummeled its tunnel network. The bombing campaign in Gaza has been so devastating that the urban landscape in the territory has become unrecognizable.

But Israel’s military has said that eliminating Hamas isn’t possible — even if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called for “total victory” over the militant group.

One of Hamas’s most senior officials, Khaled Meshal, maintains that the group is even winning the war and will play a decisive role in Gaza’s future.

“Hamas has the upper hand,” Mr. Meshal said in an interview with The New York Times in Doha, Qatar, where he is based. “It has remained steadfast” and brought the Israel military into “a state of attrition,” he said.

Hamas’s reasoning is simple — winning simply means surviving and, at least for now, the group has managed to do that, even if it is severely weakened.

The comments by Mr. Meshal, 68, in the two-hour interview in the living room of his home in Doha, offered rare insights into the thinking of Hamas officials. He is one of the most senior figures in Hamas’s political office and is considered a key architect of the group’s strategy.

Mr. Meshal was the target in 1997 of a failed assassination attempt by Israel in Jordan, and he served as Hamas’s political chief for more than two decades. In early September, U.S. federal prosecutors unsealed charges against him and other Hamas leaders, accusing them of playing a central role in planning and carrying out the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel.

In the interview, Mr. Meshal made clear that Hamas officials are not in a rush to conclude a cease-fire with Israel at any price, and will not give up on their main demands for an end to the war and an Israeli withdrawal.

Independent analysts have made similar assessments about Hamas’s priorities. “They completely feel time is on their side,” said Ghaith al-Omari, an expert on Palestinian affairs. “They think they’re the only game in town.”

It is a confidence continuously tested on the battlefield in Gaza. While Hamas remains a powerful force in the enclave, it has faced criticism from Gazans who blame the group for putting them in harm’s way. And Hamas’s definition of success may no longer be valid if the war drags on for years and Israel succeeds in taking out much of Hamas’s remaining firepower, according to Palestinian analysts.

At the war’s start, President Biden expressed a similar position to that of Mr. Netanyahu — that Hamas needed to be eliminated. But Mr. Biden no longer speaks of its eradication, and both the United States and Israel have taken part in indirect negotiations with Hamas.

Mr. Meshal said he took that to mean that the United States was acknowledging Hamas was not going anywhere.

“The Israeli-American vision wasn’t talking about the day after the war, but the day after Hamas,” he said, referring to the initial stance by Israel and the United States.

Now, he said, the United States is saying, “We’re waiting for Hamas’s response.”

“They’re practically recognizing Hamas,” he added, without mentioning that the group has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States and Israel.

Some current and former Israeli security officials also say they believe that Hamas is unlikely to be defeated in this war.

“Hamas is winning this war,” Maj. Gen. Gadi Shamni, a former commander of the Israeli military’s Gaza division, said. “Our soldiers are winning every tactical encounter with Hamas, but we’re losing the war, and in a big way.”

Thousands of Hamas fighters and government officials continue to wield control over large parts of Gaza. In cities where Israeli forces briefly took control, their eventual departure left a void that was swiftly filled by Hamas and other militant groups.

General Shamni said that while it was undeniable that Israel has devastated Hamas’s military capabilities, Hamas has retaken towns within “15 minutes” of Israeli withdrawals.

“There’s no one that can challenge Hamas there after Israeli forces leave,” he said.

The greatest failure, General Shamni said, is that Mr. Netanyahu has not tried to introduce a realistic alternative governing body in Gaza in the aftermath of Israeli retreats.

In late June, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the Israeli military spokesman, dismissed Mr. Netanyahu’s proposition that Hamas could be wiped out.

“Hamas is an idea,” he told Israel’s Channel 13. “Those who think we can make Hamas disappear are wrong,” he said. “The thought that it is possible to destroy Hamas, to make Hamas vanish — that is throwing sand in the eyes of the public.”

Last month, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant described Mr. Netanyahu’s “total victory” slogan as “nonsense.” And some Israeli security officials have said the battle with Hamas will be left for their children.

The Israeli military has said it has killed more than 17,000 militants in Gaza. A military intelligence official said this summer that Israel had succeeded in undermining Hamas’s ability to fire long-range rockets at Israel, though they had other less sophisticated munitions.

The process of taking over and demolishing tunnels, the official said, was an extremely complex engineering project that could take years.

Some members of the military leadership have concluded that a cease-fire with Hamas was the best path forward, even if it leaves the group in power for the time being.

Despite Hamas’s immense losses, including many senior commanders killed by Israel, Mr. Meshal said he was confident that the group would play a dominant role in Gaza following the war. He dismissed alternative American and Israeli proposals for administering the territory without Hamas.

“All their illusions about filling the vacuum are behind us,” he said.

The United States has proposed bringing a “revitalized” Palestinian Authority to Gaza; Israel’s defense minister has suggested that Arab forces provide security in the territory; and Mr. Netanyahu has considered working with “local stakeholders with managerial experience.”

“Assuming Hamas won’t be in Gaza or influencing the situation is a mistaken assumption,” Mr. Meshal said, insisting that Palestinians alone would determine arrangements for the territory.

Hamas’s confidence about maintaining a dominant role in a postwar Gaza has also been seen in private meetings with Palestinian politicians.

When Samir al-Mashharawi, a Palestinian politician, met with Hamas leaders in Doha in November of 2023, Hamas appeared willing to share power broadly in Gaza, even on the sensitive issue of security, according to two Palestinians familiar with the gathering. Mr. al-Mashharawi is a close confidante of Mohammed Dahlan, an influential Palestinian exile who works for the president of the United Arab Emirates.

When Mr. Mashharawi met Hamas officials more than six months later, they shared a more uncompromising message: the group was ready to work together on civilian issues, but Hamas’s military wing and its internal intelligence forces were off limits, the two Palestinians said.

With the first anniversary of the war approaching, Akram Atallah, a columnist for Al-Ayyam, a Ramallah-based newspaper, listed Hamas’s accomplishments: It has stopped Israel from achieving a decisive victory; it has forced Israel to dispatch representatives to negotiate with it; and it has preserved a substantial number of fighters.

He also said that Hamas’s grip could be undone with time. “If the war ends now, it would be a victory for Hamas,” Mr. Atallah said. “But if it ends in two years, the results could change, and we don’t know where things will go.”

Whatever happens to Hamas, it is civilians who have paid the highest price in Gaza. Tens of thousands of people have been killed, and most of its population of around 2 million has been displaced.

Many Palestinians in Gaza have lashed out at Hamas for launching the Oct. 7 attack on Israel that left 1,200 people dead, accusing the group of giving Israel a pretext to wage a massive bombing campaign that has reduced cities to rubble.

Mr. Meshal dismissed criticism of Hamas’s decision. Palestinian critics of Hamas represented a minority, he said.

“As a Palestinian, my responsibility is to fight and resist until liberation,” he said.

He acknowledged that the assault had caused enormous destruction but said it was a “price” Palestinians must pay for freedom.

Asked how the Hamas-led attack had helped improve the situation given the devastation in Gaza, he insisted it was less about achieving a military victory over Israel than making it realize its policies weren’t sustainable.

“Before Oct. 7, Gaza was dying a slow death,” Mr. Meshal said. “We were in a big prison and we wanted to get rid of this situation.”" [1]

1. Hamas Is Surviving War With Israel. Now It Hopes to Thrive in Gaza Again. Rasgon, Adam.  New York Times (Online) New York Times Company. Sep 17, 2024.

Taivano įmonė bando atsiriboti nuo Libano atakoje naudotų gaviklių

„Bendrovė „Gold Apollo“ teigė, kad negamino šių įrenginių, nurodydama kitą įmonę, kuri, jos teigimu, turi licenciją naudoti jos prekės ženklą.

 

 Taivano bendrovė „Gold Apollo“, kurią amerikiečiai ir kiti pareigūnai įvardijo, kaip pranešimų gavėjų, naudotų per išpuolius Libane, per kuriuos žuvo mažiausiai 11 žmonių, tiekėją, trečiadienį siekė atsiriboti nuo prietaisų.

 

 Amerikiečiai ir kiti pareigūnai, informuoti apie išpuolį, sakė, kad Izraelis į „Gold Apollo“ gaviklių siuntą įdėjo sprogstamosios medžiagos per akivaizdžiai koordinuotą operaciją, nukreiptą prieš „Hezbollah“.

 

 „Gold Apollo“ neigė, kad pagamino gaviklius, o vietoj to nurodė kitą gamintoją, kuris, pasak jos, pagamino tą gaviklio modelį naudodamas „Gold Apollo“ prekės ženklą, kaip dalį licencijos sutarties.

 

 Sprogstamosios medžiagos, kurios buvo paslėptos gaviklių partijoje, detonavo, gavus signalą. Per išpuolį taip pat buvo sužeista apie 2700 žmonių.

 

 Tačiau trečiadienį „Gold Apollo“ biure Taipėjaus pakraštyje Hsu Ching-Kuangas, bendrovės įkūrėjas ir prezidentas, sakė, kad gaviklius pagamino kita įmonė. Vėliau „Gold Apollo“ šią įmonę identifikavo kaip B.A.C. Consulting, įmonė, kurią apibūdino, kaip turinčią adresą Budapešte.

 

 P. Hsu sakė, kad maždaug prieš trejus metus sutiko leisti B.A.C. parduoti savo gaminius, naudojant Gold Apollo prekės ženklą, kuris, anot jo, turi gerą reputaciją nišinėje rinkoje.

 

 „Šis produktas nėra mūsų. Jie tiesiog laikosi mūsų įmonės prekės ženklo“, – žurnalistams sakė P. Hsu ir pridūrė, kad mainais jo įmonė gavo dalį pelno.

 

 „Mes suteikiame tik prekės ženklo leidimą ir nedalyvaujame, kuriant ar gaminant šį gaminį“, – raštu teigiama „Gold Apollo“ pranešime. Nepaisant to, „Gold Apollo“ svetainėje buvo rodoma gaviklio modelio nuotrauka, kol tinklalapis buvo panaikintas trečiadienį.

 

 Kai kurie pareigūnai, informuoti apie operaciją, teigė, kad „Hezbollah“ užsakyti gavikliai buvo sugadinti, prieš jiems pasiekiant Libaną, o dauguma jų buvo „Gold Apollo“ AR924 modelis, nors į siuntą taip pat buvo įtraukti trys kiti „Gold Apollo“ modeliai.

 

 Atskirame pareiškime „Gold Apollo“ teigė, kad AR924 modelį gamino ir pardavė B.A.C., su kuriuo ji palaiko „ilgalaikę partnerystę“. „Mūsų įmonė suteikia tik prekės ženklo leidimą ir nedalyvauja kuriant ar gaminant šį gaminį“, – teigė bendrovė.

 

 Pastangos susisiekti su B.A.C. ir patikrinti, ar „Gold Apollo“ sako tiesą, nebuvo sėkmingos. Skambinant numeriu, nurodytu B.A.C. „Consulting“ svetainėje, kurioje buvo nurodytas tas pats „Gold Apollo“ pateiktas adresas, skambėjo be atsakymo.

 

 Atsekti, kaip ir kada gavikliai buvo supakuoti sprogstamos medžiagos, gali būti sudėtinga. Taivano plataus vartojimo elektronikos pramonė yra sudėtinga prekių ženklų, gamintojų ir agentų tiekimo grandinė.

 

 Taivano ekonomikos reikalų ministerija, kuri prižiūri prekybą, teigė, kad jos įrašai rodo, kad tokie „Gold Apollo“ gavikliai „tiesiogiai neeksportuojami į Libaną“. Bendrovės gavikliai, daugiausia, buvo eksportuojami į Europą ir Šiaurės Ameriką, nurodė ministerija. Bendrovė peržiūrėjo naujienų reportažus ir nuotraukas ir nusprendė, kad gavikliai buvo modifikuoti tik po to, kai buvo eksportuoti iš Taivano, pranešė ministerija. „New York Times“ negalėjo savarankiškai patikrinti įvertinimo.

 

 Hsu sakė, kad su B.A.C. jis palaikė ilgalaikius santykius, prieš sudarant prekės ženklo licencijavimo sandorį. Žvelgdamas atgal, jis sakė, kad buvo vienas „keistas“ incidentas su B.A.C., kai vietinis Taivano bankas atidėjo banko pavedimą iš įmonės, nes vietiniam bankui kilo įtarimų. P. Hsu sakė, kad pavedimas galėjo būti atliktas iš Artimųjų Rytų banko. Jis nesakė, kurioje šalyje.“ [1]

 

1. Taiwan Company Tries to Distance Itself From Pagers Used in Lebanon Attack. Buckley, Chris; Amy Chang Chien.  New York Times (Online) New York Times Company. Sep 18, 2024.

Taiwan Company Tries to Distance Itself From Pagers Used in Lebanon Attack

 

"The company, Gold Apollo, said it had not manufactured the devices, pointing to another company that it said was licensed to use its brand.

Gold Apollo, a Taiwanese company that American and other officials named as the supplier of pagers used in attacks in Lebanon that killed at least 11 people, sought on Wednesday to distance itself from the devices.

American and other officials briefed on the attack had said that Israel had inserted explosive material into a shipment of pagers from Gold Apollo, in an apparently coordinated operation aimed at Hezbollah.

Gold Apollo denied that it had made the pagers, pointing instead at another manufacturer that it said had made that model of pager, using Gold Apollo’s brand, as part of a licensing deal.

Explosive material that had been concealed inside a batch of the pagers detonated after they received a signal. Around 2,700 people were also injured by the attack.

But at Gold Apollo’s office on the outskirts of Taipei on Wednesday, Hsu Ching-Kuang, the company’s founder and president, said the pagers were made by another company. Gold Apollo later identified that company as B.A.C. Consulting, a firm it described as having an address in Budapest.

Mr. Hsu said he had agreed about three years ago to let B.A.C. sell its own products using the Gold Apollo brand, which he said had a good reputation in the niche market.

“That product isn’t ours. They just stick on our company brand,” Mr. Hsu told journalists, adding that in return his company received a share of the profits.

“We only provide brand trademark authorization and have no involvement in the design or manufacturing of this product,” Gold Apollo said in a written statement. Even so, the Gold Apollo website displayed a picture of the pager model until the web page was taken down on Wednesday.

Some of the officials briefed on the operation had said that the pagers, which Hezbollah had ordered, had been tampered with before they reached Lebanon, and that most were Gold Apollo’s AR924 model, though three other Gold Apollo models were also included in the shipment.

In a separate statement, Gold Apollo said that the AR924 model was produced and sold by B.A.C., with which it had a “long-term partnership.” “Our company only provides the brand trademark authorization and is not involved in the design or manufacturing of this product,” the company said.

Efforts to contact B.A.C. and verify Gold Apollo’s account were not immediately successful. Calls to a number listed on B.A.C. Consulting’s website, which gave the same address provided by Gold Apollo, rang unanswered.

Tracing how and when the pagers were packed with explosive material could be complicated. Taiwan’s sprawling consumer electronics industry is a complex supply chain of brands, manufacturers and agents.

Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs, which oversees trade, said that its records showed “no direct exports to Lebanon” of such pagers from Gold Apollo. The company’s pagers were mainly exported to Europe and North America, the ministry said. The company reviewed news reports and photographs and judged that the pagers had been modified only after being exported from Taiwan, the ministry said. The New York Times could not independently verify the assessment.

Mr. Hsu said that he had a longstanding relationship with B.A.C. before they struck the brand licensing deal. Looking back, he said, there was one “odd” incident with B.A.C., when a local Taiwanese bank had delayed a bank transfer from the company because the local bank had suspicions about it. Mr. Hsu said the transfer might have come from a bank in the Middle East. He did not say which country." [1]

1. Taiwan Company Tries to Distance Itself From Pagers Used in Lebanon Attack. Buckley, Chris; Amy Chang Chien.  New York Times (Online) New York Times Company. Sep 18, 2024.