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Israel has eliminated 20% to 30% of Hamas’s fighters in Gaza, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing estimates from US intelligence agencies. This figure is lower than the Israeli goal, the publication added.
The WSJ, citing an Israeli estimate, added that, prior to the war, Hamas’s strength lay at around 30,000 fighters. Last week, the IDF reported that 9,000 of this total had been killed.
Despite much of Gaza being in ruins, new assessments show the terror group is still far from being vanquished, the WSJ said.
Hamas’s tactics have shifted since the beginning of the war, with the terror group focusing its guerilla warfare on smaller groups and lurking behind traps they set for IDF soldiers.
According to the US estimate, Hamas has enough ammunition and weapons to enable it to continue attacking the IDF in Gaza for months.
In addition, a classified US report shows evidence that in a bid to reinstate its control, Hamas is reconstituting its police force within Gaza City, as per the WSJ.
Additionally, the US estimates that some 10,500 to 11,700 terrorists have been wounded and could soon be combat-ready again.
The IDF has reportedly slightly different numbers and estimates that 16,000 terrorists have been wounded, half of whom are incapacitated and unable to return to fight.
Israeli officials have recognized Hamas’s prime goal as survival, notwithstanding the losses it has sustained, the report continued.
The numbers come amid US pressure on Israel to reduce the scale of operations in Gaza and the overall aim of the war from the complete destruction of the terror group to its elimination as a threat.
The US has also requested that the IDF shift its actions to targeting primarily Hamas leadership, the WSJ concluded.
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