Hamas has regained its strength—what implications does this hold for Israel?

This was stated by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in his farewell speech, as reported by Middle East Eye.

What Blinken Predicted

According to him, such a situation is likely to disrupt Israel's position after a potential ceasefire, considering its declared aim of "total victory and the destruction of Hamas."

"Israelis must abandon the myth that they can carry out a de facto annexation without costs and consequences for Israeli democracy," Blinken stated.

He added that Israel is expanding settlements and nationalizing land "faster than ever in the last decade" and that "violent attacks by extremist settlers on Palestinian civilians have reached record levels."

He noted that the Biden administration wants the Palestinian Authority to invite "international partners to assist in establishing and managing a temporary administration" in the devastated enclave. He also mentioned that the temporary security mission would include forces from "partner countries" and vetted Palestinian personnel.

The publication reminds that Israel has long insisted that any agreement must allow it to resume fighting whenever it wishes, while Hamas claims it will only release hostages in exchange for a complete cessation of hostilities.

Recall that just over a week ago, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that there is "certain progress" in negotiations regarding the ceasefire and the release of hostages in Gaza there is "certain progress".

We also reported that yesterday, for the first time at the UN, the number of refugees who returned to Syria after the fall of Assad's regime was mentioned. This concerns 115,000 Syrians.