Israel strategically defeated in Gaza, says ex-justice minister

Israel has been strategically defeated in the Gaza Strip, former Israeli Justice Minister Haim Ramon said on Thursday.

Israel achieved a "tactical victory but a strategic defeat. We did not achieve any of the goals set by the government," Ramon said in a radio interview.

Tel Aviv has waged a deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border incursion by Hamas last October, which killed nearly 1,200 people.

Ramon said the main goal of the Israeli war on Gaza was to eliminate Hamas, but this was not achieved.

"We said there would be military pressure to release the hostages, this did not happen either," he added.

"Today, half a year after the start of the war, nearly all of the IDF (army) forces which were sent into Gaza have already exited it. The IDF is no longer in northern Gaza, and the conquest of Rafah and the south seems farther off than ever," he said.

"In the past few days, the IDF has also withdrawn from Khan Yunis. Since February, the war in the Strip has moved to a lower intensity, and now there is almost no fighting there at all."

The former minister called on army chief Herzi Halevi to resign. "In my opinion, after six months, in light of everything that has happened, (…) this is the moment that the chief of staff will take responsibility and resign," Ramon said.

The Israeli war on Gaza has killed more than 33,500 people and injured over 76,000 others besides causing mass destruction, displacement and bringing its population of more than 2 million on the verge of famine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which has ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.