Israeli army main battle tanks are positioned near the border with the Gaza Strip in southern Israel on Aug. 5, 2025. (Credit: Jack Guez/AFP)
An internal document from the Israeli army concludes that its recent months-long offensive in Gaza has failed, according to a report by Channel 12 News on Sunday, and cited by Haaretz Monday.
The document states that Israel made "every possible mistake," conducting a war "contrary to its own doctrine of warfare." It also claims that Hamas had "every condition to survive and win," with several of the operation's main goals left unfulfilled, namely, Hamas has not been defeated, and the hostages remain unrecovered, either through military action or a negotiated agreement.
The report further argues that Israel unintentionally supplied resources to Hamas, exhausted its own forces and suffered a loss of international support. It identifies key reasons for the failure of the offensive, named Gideon’s Chariots, which began in May.
One major issue, according to the document, was the mismanagement of humanitarian aid, which allegedly enabled Hamas to launch an international "media campaign" framing Gaza as being gripped by hunger. Additional failures included repeated redeployments of troops to previously secured areas and combat tactics that proved ineffective against Hamas’ guerrilla warfare methods. Israeli offensives have displaced most of the population at least once, and the U.N. has declared a state of famine.
Despite highlighting numerous shortcomings, the document also outlines "certain operational successes." It notes that Hamas’ "infrastructure in the buffer zone along the Israeli border, and in other regions, was fully destroyed. The army also inflicted significant damage on Hamas fighters and facilities." It further reports the recovery of several hostage bodies and setbacks to Hamas' leadership, particularly the assassination of former Gaza leader Mohammed Sinwar.
Hamas confirmed in late August the death of one of its leaders, Sinwar, three months after the Israeli army announced it had killed him in a strike on Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip.
Sinwar was the Hamas chief for the Gaza Strip and the brother of Yahya Sinwar, the former supreme leader of the Palestinian movement, depicted as the main architect of the unprecedented attack carried out on Oct. 7, 2023, in Israel. He was himself killed by Israel in October 2024 by Israeli soldiers’ gunfire in southern Gaza.
In response, the Israeli army stated: "These contents were distributed without authorization and without approval from the relevant parties. The [Israeli army] met the objectives set for Operation Gideon's Chariots and achieved numerous accomplishments," Haaretz reported.
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