July 3 marks one thousand days since the beginning of the genocidal war in Gaza. It also compels us to acknowledge an undeniable reality: despite overwhelming military superiority, “Israel” has failed to achieve its principal political objective.
The destruction has been immense. The humanitarian catastrophe has reached unprecedented levels, and tens of thousands of lives have been lost.
Yet the Palestinian question remains alive, the Resistance continues to operate, and Palestine occupies an even more prominent place on the international agenda than it did before the war began.
Since 1948, successive Israeli governments have sought to resolve the conflict through military force. In Gaza, the strategy once again relied on the assumption that overwhelming military superiority would eliminate the Resistance and permanently extinguish the Palestinian national cause.
One thousand days later, that expectation has not materialized.
The war has reduced entire cities to rubble, but it has not destroyed the identity of a people or their aspiration for self-determination. This is perhaps the conflict’s most important lesson.
Wars may produce tactical victories, but they do not necessarily achieve strategic objectives. History repeatedly demonstrates that no military power can eradicate a national cause sustained by memory, identity and political determination.
The war has also called into question one of the pillars of Israeli security doctrine: its deterrence capability.
For decades, technological and military superiority was presented as the guarantee of Israel’s security and regional stability. Yet a prolonged conflict, the persistence of the Palestinian Resistance and the opening of multiple regional fronts have fueled growing debate over the limits of this strategy.
Military superiority remains intact. Israel’s ability to translate military power into lasting political outcomes, however, has become increasingly contested.
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At the same time, Israel faces an unprecedented level of international scrutiny. While it continues to enjoy the support of key allies—particularly the United States—its political standing and moral legitimacy have come under sustained global criticism.
Growing criticism in international organizations, expanding legal proceedings, and the mobilization of universities, trade unions and civil society movements all reflect a profound shift in global public perception.
Perhaps this is the greatest political setback produced by the war.
Palestine is no longer viewed merely as a regional conflict. It has become a global symbol of the struggles for self-determination, justice and equal application of international law.
For millions around the world, the Palestinian flag has come to represent opposition to colonialism, occupation and the selective enforcement of international norms.
These one thousand days have also exposed the crisis of the international order established after the Second World War.
As allegations of violations of international humanitarian law multiplied, so too did the perception—particularly across the Global South—that multilateral institutions have failed to respond with the same determination when the interests of major powers are at stake.
This credibility crisis has reinforced calls for a more multipolar and less selective international order.
The great irony of these one thousand days is that the strategy designed to marginalize Palestine has produced precisely the opposite effect.
Never before has the Palestinian cause inspired so many demonstrations, academic debates, international campaigns and expressions of solidarity across so many continents. Gaza has become a global political symbol.
The legacy of these one thousand days extends far beyond the battlefield. The war has demonstrated that military superiority alone cannot resolve conflicts rooted in history, identity and national aspirations.
More importantly, it has shown that political and moral legitimacy has become as decisive as military power itself.
Palestine still lacks a sovereign state, yet its cause has never been more present in the world’s political consciousness.
The first one thousand days of this war have demonstrated that an occupying power may reduce cities to rubble, but it cannot demolish the identity, historical memory or the right of an indigenous people to freedom and self-determination.
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