TEL AVIV (Dispatches) -- A classified Israeli military document has revealed that Operation “Gideon’s Chariots,” the extensive onslaught launched against the Gaza Strip in May and concluded last month, failed to achieve its primary goals, including the defeat of Hamas and securing the return of Israeli captives, Channel 12 reported on Sunday.
The report attributes the invasion’s failures to a critical misalignment between Israeli military tactics and Hamas’s combat methods, undermining the effectiveness of the genocidal offensive.
The so-called Israeli security cabinet approved the “Gideon’s Chariots” plan in early May 2025. The strategy was designed as a three-phase operation aimed at delivering both military and political victories by pressuring Hamas into agreeing to a ceasefire and prisoner exchange, while simultaneously dismantling the group’s military infrastructure. The plan called for the mobilization of tens of thousands of reservists to execute the aggression. 
The ultimate objective was to occupy the entirety of the Gaza Strip, including Gaza City, as confirmed by the Israeli broadcasting authority on May 5, 2025. However, the military campaign fell short of these ambitions.
On Saturday, tens of thousands of settlers protested in Tel Aviv, demanding that prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s regime abandon plans to occupy Gaza City and instead immediately sign a ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal with Hamas. 
Tuval Haim, whose brother Yotam was among three Israeli captives killed by the military in December 2023, accused the Netanyahu regime of failing to make genuine efforts to secure the release of captives. “Today, I feel we are being lied to,” Haim said.
Moshe Or, whose brother Avinatan Or remains a captive in Gaza, called for an immediate ceasefire and prisoner swap. “Enough! There must be an agreement! The prisoners are losing everything. The Israeli people want their children back,” he urged.
Similar protests took place across Haifa, West Al-Quds, and other cities.
Israel estimates that approximately 50 settlers remain captive in Gaza, with about 20 believed to be alive.
On August 8, Israel’s so-called security cabinet approved a plan to occupy Gaza City, which involves displacing around one million Palestinians southward before surrounding and occupying the city through intense military operations.
Since October 2023, nearly 63,400 Palestinians in Gaza have been martyred amid the ongoing military aggression, which has left the enclave devastated and facing famine.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former war minister Yoav Gallant on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity related to Gaza. Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice over its military actions in the enclave.