An Israeli army self-propelled artillery Howitzer fires a shell from southern Israel toward the Gaza Strip amid continuing battles between Israel and Hamas, on Jan. 19, 2024. (Credit: Jack Guez/AFP)
Israeli forces have killed 20-30 percent of Hamas fighters, according to US intelligence, an article in Sunday's Wall Street Journal reports.
The United States estimates that the movement, which it has designated a terrorist organization, numbered between 25,000 and 30,000 fighters before the current Israel-Hamas war that began on Oct. 7, in addition to thousands of police and other forces. Israeli estimates put the total at 30,000.
And the Israeli army estimates that it has killed around 9,000 Hamas fighters in Gaza since the start of the war, and over 1,000 in the Oct. 7 attack — around 30 percent of the group's total fighting strength.
Israeli officials estimate that up to 16,000 Hamas fighters have been wounded and that around half of them will not return to the battlefield, according to a senior Israeli military official. The United States estimates that between 10,500 and 11,700 militants have been wounded, the Wall Street Journal cites an American official familiar with the assessment as saying, adding that many of these fighters may eventually return to the battlefield.
According to data cited from a confidential report on which the US daily relies, Hamas is far from destroyed and still has sufficient resources and ammunition to continue striking Israel and Israeli forces in Gaza for months to come. It also contends that the group is trying to rebuild its police force in parts of Gaza City after months of war during which the Israeli army wiped out swathes of the enclave and killed more than 25,000 people, according to Hamas figures.
The WSJ goes on to report that Israeli officials have admitted that they have not achieved their goal of destroying Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007. "The group's fighters have changed their tactics, operating in smaller groups and hiding between ambushes of Israeli troops, while individual fighters are likely to take on more tasks to take over from their fallen comrades, military analysts said," the paper writes.
Israel has withdrawn thousands of troops from Gaza following pressure from the US to favor more targeted attacks, but military officials say the war could continue for many more months.
"Hamas's survival has raised questions in Israel, the Palestinian territories and abroad about Israel's ability to achieve its war aims," the WSJ adds, before adding that "Biden administration officials have begun to lower their expectations," considering it possible to reduce the Hamas threat sufficiently without destroying it completely.