Victory in Gaza is a ceasefire while arms remain, says Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader

A Palestinian victory in Gaza would be if a ceasefire is called while fighters are still armed, a leader of Palestinian Islamic Jihad said in a sobering assessment on the 100th day of war.

Mohammed al-Hindi, the group's deputy secretary and chief negotiator, told a pro-Palestine conference in Istanbul that neither massive, worldwide protests, such as those held on Saturday, nor a finding in favour of South Africa at the International Court of Justice could stop the war.

"This is so much larger than that," Hindi told a crowd of about 300 at the Freedom for Palestine gathering on Sunday.

He said the war in Gaza reflects a shift from the United States being the world's sole superpower to multipolar forces, causing the US to deprioritise the Middle East to focus on China and Europe.

Consequently, he said, the US has withdrawn from Iraq and Afghanistan, encouraged Syria's return to the Arab League and promoted the Abraham Accords, which mark improved relations between Israel and other countries in the region, in an effort to place Israel in the regional leadership gap it is leaving.

"Gaza, the weakest link in the chain, rebelled against that scheme. That's the real background of this war," he said.

"This is not a fight between resistance and an army, but a war to deter and repress any rebellion in the region, not just in Palestine... Arab public opinion is oppressed and has no weight because regimes themselves are wanting to see what happens."

Only Israeli losses on the ground and American fears that the conflict will spill over into a regional war will halt the assault on Gaza, Hindi said.

"Ultimately, if we reach a ceasefire while we keep our arms, we are victorious," he said. "This will be a strategic victory for Palestinians and the whole region."

Reporting by Dania Akkad in Istanbul, Turkey