Israeli Media: Netanyahu’s ‘Election Gamble Failed’ on Iran War; Hezbollah’s ‘Titles Worsen’
Haaretz, a leading Israeli newspaper, has diagnosed the Iran war as a “failure of an election gamble” by Prime Minister Netanyahu.
In an analysis article titled “<Netanyahu Government Softens Belligerent Rhetoric in Anticipation of U.S.-Iran Agreement>”, Haaretz reported on the 27th that “this war was intended to be Netanyahu’s trump card ahead of the upcoming election, but it fell short of the grandiose illusions described by government spokespersons in the early stages.”
The newspaper further stated, “Not only did it fail to break the political stalemate, but it also cast an aura of failure upon Netanyahu and exposed blatant lies about past successes.”
Haaretz added, “Not only has it failed to break the political stalemate so far, but it has also cast an aura of failure upon Netanyahu,” noting, “At least his supporters who deny the situation must now face the stench of stagnation and find someone to blame.” It was stated that he would soon condemn Mossad Chief David Barnea, followed by condemning the slain Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and the Oslo Accords.
An Israeli cabinet minister spoke anonymously, saying, "If this agreement ends without resolving the uranium issue, it is effectively a signal that we have to do it ourselves." He added, "I don't believe that will happen; we won't agree. But unfortunately, it seems Trump is heading toward a deal, and he has confused everyone so much that no one knows what he is actually going to do."
Haaretz assessed that the war has already shifted from a "strait blockade agenda" to an "Iran-U.S. deal," and that the situation regarding Hezbollah in northern Israel has become more serious.
Haaretz continued, "Netanyahu succeeded in drawing Trump into the war, and while this may be his greatest achievement, the U.S. President is showing signs of growing increasingly exhausted." He noted, "Iran has realized that it does not need nuclear weapons at all. This is because it already holds a strategic card powerful enough to control oil prices." Therefore, it was stated that the war is highly likely to revolve around itself, centering on an issue that did not exist before its outbreak: the issue of freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.
The article continued, stating, "Trump and Netanyahu will package any agreement with Iran as a victory," and added, "If such an agreement is reached, it is highly likely to be not significantly different from the scope both sides had already reached before the war—namely, the criticized 2015 nuclear deal. Iran could even help package it as a victory by having the two men make some concessions on uranium or at least agree to strengthen oversight."
The article further stated, "Any sane person cannot help but admit that Israel's strategic position and the United States' strategic position appear to have been significantly deteriorated by the war," and declared, "Netanyahu's massive gamble has failed. This war has not only weakened the deterrence of the world's most powerful nation and the most powerful power in the Middle East, but has also revealed to Israeli citizens that they were boldly lied about past successes."
** The newspaper assessed the future outcome as "corresponding to the result of the 12-day war with Iran last June, in which Hezbollah succeeded once again in paralyzing northern Israel," pointing out the worsening situation of Hezbollah in northern Iran.
A cabinet minister stated, "The situation in the north is far more complex than the situation in Iran," adding, "Looking back, it has become clear that briefings on how weakened Hezbollah has been were exaggerated."
Haaretz editor-in-chief Al-Roof Ben spoke of Israel's "unprecedented" wartime dependence on the United States, stating, "Our fate rests in Trump's hands."
Haaretz, anticipating a recurrence of the bitter atmosphere of the Second Lebanon War in 2006, noted, "After the Lebanon War ended, then-Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was forced to resign in disgrace," adding, "Looking back, the 2006 war lasted much longer than any period of calm seen in the past two and a half years."
The newspaper continued by stating, "Netanyahu's diplomatic ineffectiveness stands out once again, both on the northern front and in the Iran issue," adding that "the Lebanese government, now facing Iran with bare hands, possesses constraints and weaknesses that hinder progress toward an agreement with Israel."
The newspaper pointed out that, despite this, the Netanyahu government still does not treat the Lebanese government as a partner and is making no effort to advance such an agreement "as long as it views it as a subcontractor at best, or a terminal patient at worst."
Now, without a diplomatic breakthrough, it is uncertain how the fate of northern Israel will change.
Regarding Hezbollah’s involvement in the conflict, Haaretz assessed the future election outcome as “unclear,” stating, “This is because we are facing increasingly more battles that paralyze even the lives remaining after the previous battle ended.” It added, “Nevertheless, despite these failures, it is still too early to give up on Netanyahu. Just as great success in this war would not have attracted him to Democratic voters, his current failures are unlikely to bring about a clear change in him. Since October 7, Netanyahu’s supporters have already shown that they have no intention of evaluating him.”
Initially, during the first week of the war with Iran, amidst a massive offensive, Israeli government spokesman Netanyahu confidently envisioned “regime change in Iran within a month, the complete dismantling of the ballistic missile program, and, of course, the complete elimination of the nuclear threat.”
In the days following the outbreak of hostilities, all of this shifted to rhetoric that more modestly emphasized the relative advantages of the deal.
Haaretz stated, “These cabinet changes reflect the widespread assumption within the government that U.S. President Donald Trump is indeed heading in this direction,” adding, “Regime change in Tehran was long ago removed from the agenda, Israeli government ministers suddenly shifted their stance on the Iranian ballistic missile launch to claim it ‘showed we know how to handle it,’ and with only the ‘enriched uranium’—the reason for the war—remaining, this has become a stubborn point that must be explained somehow.”
President Trump stated that the United States had virtually completely destroyed Iran's military capabilities, describing Iran as an enemy with weakened teeth.
The U.S. military revealed that the number of attacks launched by Iran decreased by approximately 90% in the early stages of the war, and that the Israeli military had rendered about 70% of Iran's hundreds of missile launchers inoperable.
Regarding this, The New York Times reported on the 28th that "the U.S. military may have mistaken a decrease in activity for a decrease in capability."
Kelly A. Griecho, a senior fellow at the Stimson Center for Foreign Affairs in Washington, told the NYT that "how effectively Iran uses its own weapons may be more important than the number of attacks." Analyzing publicly available data on Iran's volleys, she stated that "Iran's hit rate increased as the war progressed and more than doubled since March 10."
She noted, "Enemies adapt," adding, "There are signs here that there is an enemy that has never been defeated, but one that adapts, learns, and inflicts enough damage to execute its strategy." He continued, "This administration is obsessed with how much the bombs dropped and the scale of Iranian attacks have decreased. They like the number 90 percent," adding, "Does this number obscure the fact that there has been a change in Iran's approach?"
The NYT reported, "The series of attacks targeting Israel and Gulf states in recent days constitutes the latest evidence that Iran possesses enough missiles and drones to destabilize the region and inflict massive damage on enemies, suggesting that, contrary to President Trump's declarations, they are still fighting." The report added, "Millions of Israelis are still flocking to bomb shelters day and night to escape Iranian missile attacks. The daily routine of sirens and explosions instills fear and paralysis."
See <Israel’s Troops and Experts Exhausted; US and Israel’s Interceptor Missiles ‘Shortage’, March 27, 2026>
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<Iran ‘Attacks’ Israel’s Dimona Nuclear Facility; Patriot ‘Limited’ to Drone Attack Capability, March 5, 2026>
<Trump Fails to Achieve Early Regime Change in Iran; ‘Long-Term War’; Overseas Weapons ‘Activated’, March 2, 2026>
<Trump Induces Reckless War Negotiations; Late-Night Social Media Bombing ‘Amplifies’ Regime Change, March 1, 2026>
<Trump Attacks Iranian Missile Base; Israel Deems War ‘Impossible’ Based on Saudi Intelligence, January 20, 2026>
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