In its relatively short history as a state, Israel has achieved numerous resounding military victories. It has regularly fought Arab armies and defeated most, often entering battle as the underdog. But when it turned its guns against the people it crushed under the yoke of one of the most ruthless occupations in history, then its victories appeared hollow. But its leaders do not feel remorse. Quite the opposite: they thrive on hubris and vanity.

So, in the grand scheme of things, when Israel waged war on the Gaza Strip in retaliation for the deadly Oct. 7 Hamas attacks, the odds were stacked in its favor to deliver a resounding defeat to the militant group. But this was no ordinary warfare, not in the classic military sense. From the very start, this was an orchestrated pogrom against millions of Gazans. This is a war run by extremist politicians whose aim remains to obliterate or ethnically cleanse every man, woman and child in the Strip. From the onset, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has used Old Testament references full of hate, incitements and retribution to justify what has become the genocide of the 21st century.

Ironically, Israel could have run over and occupied the entire Gaza Strip weeks — maybe months — after degrading Hamas’ command and control structure and paralyzing its brigades. It could carry out surgical attacks to take out top Hamas military leaders, with little impact on the civilian population. In many ways, that is precisely what it did in Lebanon, decapitating Hezbollah’s upper echelons using stunning and precise attacks in less than two months.

Instead, and at the behest of its beleaguered leader, Netanyahu, it opted to prolong the war, killing tens of thousands of civilians and injuring hundreds of thousands without achieving a single military objective. It could have subdued the enclave, having one of the world’s strongest armies, and yet it wallowed in Palestinian blood, taking pleasure in killing women and children especially.

It could have subdued the enclave, having one of the world’s strongest armies, and yet it wallowed in Palestinian blood

Osama Al-Sharif

If it had achieved a quick victory, as it was capable of doing, it would have maintained the Western sympathy and backing generated in the wake of Oct. 7. However, to keep power and avoid accountability, Netanyahu chose to engage in an entirely unwarranted bloodbath.

So, after more than 18 months, Israel finds itself bogged down in Gaza with no clear political or military vision. Instead of securing that elusive victory, it is now gazing straight into the jaws of ultimate defeat. There is no way for Israel to reverse course and rid itself of the shame of committing the most shocking atrocities since the Second World War.

To begin with, this is no longer just about eliminating Hamas. As the death count for Gaza civilians passes the 54,000 mark, with thousands still missing under the rubble, the world has moved beyond the Oct. 7 Israeli national calamity narrative. It is now gripped by the daily deluge of harrowing Palestinian statistics: those who are killed and injured by Israeli fire, death by starvation, by disease and by lack of medical care.

It was inevitable that the world would finally take notice of Gaza’s killing fields. The list of war crimes Israeli soldiers and politicians have committed — and are still committing — is simply too long, too abominable to ignore. With the international press barred by Israel from entering the enclave — the only conflict zone not to be covered by an independent media in more than two centuries — Netanyahu thought that his army could go on butchering Palestinians covertly. He was dead wrong.

And when Palestinian journalists braved the carnage and brought the heart-breaking reality of Gaza’s misery to the living rooms and mobile phones of hundreds of millions around the world, Israel targeted them with vigor, killing a record 180-plus of them, many with their entire families.

Israel has broken so many records, in fact: killing doctors, medics, aid workers, university professors, women, babies and children, all with impunity. Israel knows exactly what it is doing. The only explanation is a belief that it has impunity, a blank check to kill Palestinians, because it genuinely believes it is always the victim and the world owes it.

Israel has unintentionally delivered a huge boost to the Palestinian cause, resurrecting it on the global stage

Osama Al-Sharif

But Israel has already lost the Gaza war, even if it continues to kill and starve the hapless 2 million Palestinians there for another month or year or more. Aside from Netanyahu’s interest in pursuing the war, there is no path to victory. The price the Palestinians are having to pay is enormous, but looking at the world today, one can see how a seismic shift is taking place. Israel has unintentionally delivered a huge boost to the Palestinian cause, resurrecting it on the global stage as the most noble and moral mission any decent individual can embrace.

The war has transformed the Palestinian struggle for liberation and self-determination into a universal crusade, galvanizing worldwide protests and calls for justice in a way that has isolated Israel on the international stage. Western governments, including key Israeli allies, have moved from supporting Tel Aviv to criticizing its crimes and calling out its violations of humanitarian law. For the first time, some European leaders are warning of concrete actions against Israel if it does not cease the hostilities and allow aid into Gaza.

Israel is reacting to such scathing attacks with the usual barrage of counterattacks, accusations of antisemitism and raw arrogance. That is only adding to its woes on the international stage. By attempting to manipulate and threaten Western leaders, Israel is further isolating itself. Even former Israeli premiers are now admitting that its army is committing war crimes in Gaza.

No one knows how this genocide will end or what will happen to Gaza and its people. For sure, the suffering of the Palestinians will continue in Gaza and the West Bank. Israel’s far-right leaders are so detached from reality that they are pushing for more killings in Gaza, while simultaneously pushing for the annexation of the West Bank. Once again, it is arrogance and smugness that are pushing Israel to the brink.

In the past, Israel has lost wars too. But it was able to recover. Can it ever recover from the inevitable defeat in Gaza? Israeli society has never been as divided as it is now. The government has been taken over by religious and nationalist zealots who have turned Israel into an international pariah, while promoting a fortress mentality. Israel’s war on Gaza has turned into a moral and military failure, one that will haunt it for decades. Those who stand by it — and they are getting fewer by the day — will also be judged as having stood on the wrong side of history.

Even when the war ends, Israel will have to account for its crimes in Gaza before international courts. Its leaders, generals and soldiers will be pursued all over the world, just as those of any other defeated nation have had to do since the end of the Second World War.

The rise of Israel was one of the most enigmatic stories of the 20th century from a Western point of view. Palestinians have been on the losing side for decades. Now, however, that romantic fable is crumbling as Israel becomes eyeless in Gaza.

• Osama Al-Sharif is a journalist and political commentator based in Amman. X: @plato010