Only about a third of Hamas’ fighters have been killed, according to intelligence estimates, despite the nearly eight-month war on Gaza
United States, US media reported on 21 May, citing intelligence estimates, that only about a third of the fighters from Hamas’ armed wing have been killed by Israel, while the majority of the group’s extensive tunnel network remains intact.
“Although Hamas’ communications and military abilities have been degraded, only 30 to 35 percent of its fighters — those who were a part of Hamas before the Oct. 7 attack — have been killed and about 65 percent of its tunnels are still intact,” Politico reported on Wednesday, citing US intelligence.
Washington has been “increasingly concerned that Hamas has been able to recruit during wartime — thousands over the last several months,” allowing it “to withstand months of Israeli offensives,” according to a person familiar with the intelligence.
Israel has previously claimed that around 12,000 Hamas fighters out of its supposed 30,000 have been killed, something the resistance group denies.
The Politico report comes just days after a Pentagon official, chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General CQ Brown, criticized Israel for failing to prevent Hamas’ return to prominence in areas where the Israeli army had operated.
Last week, US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said that a “total victory” for Israel is not “likely or possible” in this war, adding that Tel Aviv is “struggling over what the theory of victory is” in Gaza.
Israel claimed in early January that all of Hamas’ battalions were dismantled in northern Gaza, including in the northern city of Jabalia, where Israeli forces are now operating once again and are taking heavy losses during battles with the Palestinian resistance, including Hamas’ Qassam Brigades and other groups.
The resistance remains entrenched in several other areas across Gaza, particularly in the southernmost city of Rafah – which Israel had labeled Hamas’ final stronghold and where troops are also facing heavy resistance since Tel Aviv defied months of international warnings and launched an operation in the besieged city.
Fighters continue to emerge from tunnels to ambush soldiers with RPGs and explosive devices and have recently stepped up the tactic of rigging buildings with bombs and detonating them with Israeli troops inside.
At the start of the war, Israel said its goal was to “eliminate” Hamas. Nearly eight months into the fighting, the group remains nowhere near elimination.
Experts, including Israeli and western analysts, have said that Israel has failed to achieve all its goals in the Gaza Strip, including wiping out the resistance and freeing prisoners held by Hamas.
