JERUSALEM

Israel’s “weakest enemy” Hamas has inflicted the worst damage on Tel Aviv, War Cabinet Minister Gadi Eisenkot said on Monday. 

The Hamas attack represented a “fatal failure” for Israel, Eisenkot, a former army chief, said in statements carried by Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper.

"There are no justifications, the [Israeli] army enjoys the country’s trust, but there must be a genuine and painful probe at all levels, and without compromises," he added.

“We’ve been exercising huge military capability for six months now, and still fail to return the 133 hostages,” Eisenkot said.

Hamas is believed to be holding nearly 133 Israeli hostages since its cross-border incursion into Israel, which killed nearly 1,200 people on Oct. 7, 2023.

Israel has since waged a deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip, killing nearly 33,800 people and injuring 76,500 others amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of most food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which in January issued an interim ruling ordering Tel Aviv to ensure its forces do not commit acts of genocide, and guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza. 

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara