From Boasts to Blame
Top Official Admits “Israel Defeated Us; It’s a Disaster”
In a stunning reversal, Al Jazeera analyst and former Jordanian general Fayez Duwari, once a vocal supporter of Hamas, admits the war was a disaster and calls for those responsible to face justice. His words mark a rare crack in pro-Hamas rhetoric after months of glorifying the October 7 attacks.
Fayez Duwari, a former Jordanian general and a prominent military analyst for Al Jazeera, ends the war with his head bowed, admitting Hamas’s defeat. This comes after months in which he had glorified the October 7 attack, presenting it to hundreds of millions of viewers as “one of Hamas’s greatest victories.”
Duwari had been so closely identified with the organization that Hamas operatives would shout, “Martyr, O Duwari! Broadcast this, Duwari!”, a call for him to “report the heroism”, before launching rockets. Now, away from the TV cameras, his words reflect a dramatic shift in his assessment of the war’s outcome.
In an interview shared by senior analyst Zvi Yehezkeli, Duwari described the current situation in Gaza:
“I couldn’t find a single positive aspect to this war. It was complete darkness in every sense. The timing, the developments, the decisions: it was a disaster. As if there was a trap, and we fell into it willingly.”
He continued:
“I don’t want to cast blame, but starting this war and I’m not referring to the original decision at the time, but everything that followed, doing something that led to such a disaster, all those responsible must be held to account, so that history will remember them with eternal disgrace.”