Both Israel and the Palestinians claimed victory in the November war, despite the huge discrepancy in fatalities and destruction caused by it. The conflict resulted in the deaths of 153 Palestinians, 103 of them civilians, according to the United Nations preliminary investigation, while only six Israelis were killed. However, as Adam Shaltz points out, “victory in war is not measured solely in terms of body counts.”
The several factions in Gaza which, during the fighting, seemed to have formed a single and unified Palestinian (para)miliary alliance, say they not only “put up a good fight” against Israel’s huge military arsenal, but also “forced” Israeli into a cease-fire on conditions much more favorable to them.
