By Dr. Sabir Abu Maryam
Secretary-General, Palestine Foundation Pakistan
The recent aggression against Gaza which continued relentlessly for two years, during which Palestinians were subjected to massacres and Gaza was driven toward large-scale devastation, finally resulted in a ceasefire agreement reached on 9 October 2025.
Throughout this period a particular group repeatedly engaged in an information campaign that sought to blame Palestine, its people, and their resistance, while covering up Israeli atrocities and insisting that Gaza had been defeated and destroyed and that thousands had been killed. In reality a massacre and acts of genocide took place, yet that particular cohort did not condemn the slaughter; instead it exaggerated the losses to try to demoralize the Palestinians.
In any case, a ceasefire has now been declared and it remains to be seen how long the occupying Israeli state will adhere to it. In the midst of all this, one question the world now wants answered is: who actually suffered losses? Who won the war and who lost it?
To answer that question we must compare the losses suffered by both sides. First, speak of Gaza: claims have been made that Gaza has been completely destroyed, that millions are homeless and millions wounded, that infrastructure has been ruined, and that almost nothing resembling normal life remains. The leadership of Hamas and Islamic Jihad has paid the ultimate price and been martyred physically and other losses have indeed occurred. Yet, measured against the goal of freedom for which Palestinians have sacrificed over more than seven decades of occupation, these losses are nothing compared to that enduring objective.
If we turn to the losses suffered by the occupying Zionist state of Israel, the damage to Israel when compared to Gaza has been greater in many respects. Compiling reports and analyses broadcast across various media, the occupying Israeli government has sustained the following losses, leaving a wound in Israel’s 77-year history that will not heal for many years. The claims of loss are summarized below:
Military casualties: Reports from various media outlets indicate nearly two thousand Israeli soldiers killed and some twenty-five thousand soldiers wounded or disabled. When a state’s armed forces suffer large-scale fatalities or disabilities, it immediately affects combat capacity, depletes experienced commanders, harms morale, and leads to revisions in defensive operations, military policy, and strategic planning.
Financial losses: Economic damage is estimated to have exceeded approximately $150 billion.
Port closure: Recent reports say the port of Eilat has been completely closed.
Normalization with Arab governments: Prior normalization initiatives with Arab states have been undermined by the war; this issue is likely to remain dormant for many years, inflicting diplomatic and regional losses on Israel.
Internal stability: Israel’s internal stability and public confidence including faith in political leadership, military command, and the media have been severely damaged.
Infrastructure and civilian losses: Reports indicate extensive infrastructure damage, and thousands of Israeli settlers have abandoned parts of the occupied territories because those areas are no longer safe for them.
International reaction: The response of the international community has not favored Israel; as a result, Israel has faced great humiliation and loss of standing worldwide.
Summing up additional losses: Israel has lost thousands of soldiers in Gaza (killed, wounded, or disabled); it has suffered an estimated $150 billion in damage; it has lost the gains of normalization with the Arab world; it has failed in its attempt to eliminate the Palestinian cause; it has lost international reputation and foreign and commercial relations; it has lost hundreds of armored vehicles and large quantities of ammunition; it has lost the trust of Jews in Netanyahu’s government; it has lost its plan to take full control of Gaza; it has lost prestige before the peoples of the world and the support of Western public opinion; it has lost internal security and stability, unity and cohesion on its home front; it has lost generals and senior military leaders; it has lost the myth of being an “invincible army”; it has lost the advanced technologies it once boasted about; it has lost deterrence capability in the region; it has lost hidden alliances with some Arab states; it has lost its political future in the region; it has lost composure in the face of Gaza’s steadfastness; it has lost media credibility before its people and the world; it has lost a whole generation of youth in a futile war; it has exhausted international patience; and it has lost whatever remained of its humanity.
The result is that Israel has suffered a resounding defeat in this war, while Gaza through steadfastness on the battlefield and success in the arena of narratives has achieved victories that are now also reflected at the negotiating table.
