Hassan
Iran Daily’s correspondent
in Pakistan
Last week, the global rating agency Fitch downgraded Israel’s credit score from A plus to A, citing the ongoing economic slowdown in the occupied territories for over a year, which has worsened due to the state of war following Israel’s aggression in Gaza since October 7, 2023. In the second week of the same month, Israel announced that it would end this war only after Hamas is completely eradicated. According to defense analysts, although Hamas has not officially disclosed its fighter numbers, they estimate that Hamas and Islamic Jihad have a combined force of around 15,000 combatants. Tel Aviv claims to have killed 60% of Hamas fighters. While Hamas has not released figures on its fighter casualties, independent and credible diplomatic sources believe that 97% of Hamas’s military strength remains intact. Despite significant military intervention, Israel has failed to identify and destroy Hamas’s underground tunnels. This failure has visibly fueled the anger of Tel Aviv’s far-right cabinet, leading to the targeting of families taking refuge in Palestinian schools under the suspicion that Hamas fighters may be hiding there. The targeting o schools by the Israeli military reflects this anger, resulting in the martyrdom of more than a thousand Palestinian children and women.
Fitch cited the ongoing war in Gaza and geopolitical risks as key factors behind the decline in Israel’s economy. The global rating agency also took a negative view of Israel’s stance, accusing it of using delaying tactics to avoid a ceasefire agreement with Hamas.
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