"… Given these considerations, the goal of the Palestinian operation is not to earn some rights in the likes of breadcrumbing or superficial concessions in exchange for captives. The goal is no longer even about “resisting” something. If there can be no grounds for negotiation with an apartheid regime whose only aim is to erase the Palestinian people from the realm of existence, then the sole viable course of action is none other than to obliterate Zionism in its entirety, including those who uphold it as an unquestionable truth and ideology. In other words, the objective of the operation has moved beyond the mere concept of “resistance” to that of “liberation”.

…

Iran has recently communicated via UN channels its intention to intervene if the war on Gaza further escalates. Shortly after, news reports revealed that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken privately asked China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, to intervene in mediation efforts for the implementation of a ceasefire in the conflict. Knowing that a ceasefire is objectively unrealistic, Yi said in earlier statements that the issue lies in a lack of justice toward the Palestinian people. In his response to Blinken, Yi said the US should assume a “constructive and responsible role” in its capacity to restore order, while implicitly conveying that the US has played a key role in spreading chaos and disrupting the whole region.

The US has traditionally expanded via means of militarization and destruction. It is structurally incapable of implementing any sort of substantial truce agreement because it is not wired to do so. For the US to show up with a massive carrier and still be unable to dislodge Hamas off its grounds is a monumental revelation that it no longer has the capacity to exert influence. In China, there is a common metaphorical expression used to refer to something that appears powerful or threatening on the surface but is, in reality, weak or ineffective. This is what the US has aptly become: a paper tiger.

Vladimir Putin has likewise raised the point into consideration. When asked if the aircraft carrier was sent to bombard Lebanon, his response was, “I don’t understand why the United States is dragging one of its aircraft carrier groups there […] Is [the US] going to bomb Lebanon or did they decide to scare someone? But there are people there who are no longer afraid of anything.”

The US is a paper tiger

The absence of fear underscores the reality that the US no longer holds the same level of influence or dominance it once had. Whatever the outcome of the war on Gaza, this serves as a stark indication of shifting global power dynamics which no longer seems to align with the unchallenged supremacy the US once possessed. But given the progression of current events, it is imperative to keep a close eye on how the US will adapt to this evolving landscape.

It would be wrong to assume that the operation has failed solely because Israeli forces have determined that captives are no longer a relevant factor in establishing grounds for compromise. What only matters is that Hamas is continuing to make strides in its project of liberation - and, above all, that the element of fear has shifted from the Palestinian side to the Israeli side."