Tel Aviv failed to defeat Hamas: Israeli politician

An Israeli politician says Tel Aviv has failed to defeat the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas and to achieve its objectives during the eight-day onslaught on the besieged Gaza Strip.

On Wednesday, Yesh Atid Chairman Yair Lapid said Israel’s truce with Hamas “comes too late and without meeting the goals… set for the [Israeli] operation,” the Israeli website Ynetnews reported.

“Israel negotiated with the group [Hamas] and failed to defeat it” although Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had promised otherwise, Lapid added.

Earlier in the day, Egypt announced that the Israeli regime and the Palestinian resistance movement had reached a ceasefire agreement.

After the announcement, Hamas Political Bureau Chief Khaled Meshaal also stated at a press conference that “Israel has failed in all its goals.”

“After eight days, God stayed their hand from the people of Gaza, and they were compelled to submit to the conditions of the resistance,” Meshaal said.

The Israeli regime’s deadly offensive on the blockaded coastal enclave has left at least 162 Palestinians dead and some 1,200 others injured since November 14.

In retaliation, Palestinian resistance fighters rained down rockets and missiles into Israeli cities, killing five Israelis, including one soldier.