On March 20, 2024, Imam Khamenei, during his Nowruz speech while speaking about the situation in Gaza, described the Zionist regime as a regime which "is facing a crisis, not only in terms of protecting itself, but also in terms of coming out of the crisis. Because by entering the war in Gaza, it has become stuck in a quagmire. Regardless of whether it comes out of Gaza or not, it will have failed." What follows tries to explain the reasons and dimensions of Imam Khamenei's describing the Zionist regime in this way.
It's been almost 150 days since Zionist regime began its ground invasion of Gaza. This brutal attack, which has resulted in martyrdom of more than 13 thousand children and more than 9 thousand women, was initially staged to be an attempt to eliminate Resistance and its facilities in Gaza, and to force the population of Gaza to leave Palestine for Sinai desert. In January 2024, IOF claimed that it has completely dismantled Hamas’ military capabilities in northern Gaza, and that it is expanding this status throughout the Gaza strip. More than 70 days have passed since this claim was made, and two headlines simultaneously are seen in the news regarding the war in Gaza. First, Netanyahu's insistence on expanding ground invasion to Rafah, located in southern parts of Gaza strip, and second, intense clashes between Resistance forces and Zionist army around Al-Shifa hospital, located in Gaza City in north Gaza.
Prior to this, Zionist regime’s prime minister talked about attempts to assassinate Hamas top commanders. These attempts have failed drastically after several months of Zionist ground invasion of Gaza. Adding to this, videos and news are coming out of Resistance operations in areas over which Zionists have claimed dominance are circulated on social media almost every day. This paradox between the news coming out of the battlefield in Gaza and the Zionist official’s claims has only one meaning. It seems like the Zionist regime has not been able to reach any of its goals in Gaza strip, and is now under increasing pressure. This pressure is both coming from inside and the outside. The outside pressure has got to a level where its Western ally, Canada, has announced that it will halt arms export to it, and its main supporter, the US, although hypocritically, is rooting for a ceasefire. Zionist regime’s failure in Gaza is not limited to military or diplomatic areas. The economic damages that the continuation of war has inflicted and continue to inflict on this regime are also significant. A brief account of these economic damages was given in this article. Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah, Secretary General of Hezbollah, also pointed out an aspect of this failure, saying that, “The fact that after nearly six months, Zionist regime is negotiating with Hamas is a clear sign of its failure.” All these go hand in hand to prove the point raised by Imam Khamenei in his speech on March 20, 2024 that Gaza has turned into a quagmire for Zionist regime, and it will fail no matter if it continues to stay in Gaza.
But there is also another aspect to Zionist regime’s failure, and that is its disgraceful defeat if it decides to leave Gaza. This murderous regime which has committed atrocities in order to regain its prestige and deterrence, will put an end to its deterrence if it leaves Gaza today. There is an ongoing considerable dispute going on between political parties and fractions inside the Zionist regime. This was manifested in the controversies created around the decision to send ultra-orthodox Zionists to war. These domestic clashes will go to another level if the Zionist army gets out of Gaza, defeated. Internationally, israeli regime which has been trialed for genocide, will see its ambitious plans for normalization and integration into the region all perished, and three war fronts open at the same time. First, is the ongoing battle against the Hezbollah in north; second is the Yemeni blockade on Zionist ships in the Red Sea, and third is the front against the Iraqi Resistance, which has targeted israeli ports once in a while with cruse missiles.
Imam Khamenei stated in a meeting on Mach 20, 2024, “Another point and another perspective from which we can view this issue is that everyone has become aware of the true status of the Zionist regime. It has become clear that the Zionist regime is suffering a crisis, not only in terms of protecting itself, but also in terms of coming out of the crisis. It got stuck in a quagmire and is unable to save itself. Because by entering the war in Gaza, it has become stuck in a quagmire. Regardless of whether it comes out of Gaza or not, it will have failed. And if it doesn’t come out, it will also have failed. This is the situation the Zionist regime is in.”
