Israel has killed just a fifth of Hamas fighters – WSJ — RT World News

Israel has killed only 20% to 30% of Hamas fighters in Gaza since declaring war on the Palestinian militant group following its cross-border raid on October 7, according to US intelligence estimates published by The Wall Street Journal on Sunday.

In a confidential report prepared earlier this month, Washington estimated that Hamas had between 25,000 and 30,000 fighters in Gaza before the war, in addition to thousands of members of the Strip's police force and other authorities, based on its estimates of communications made. Interception, surveillance of drones, and Israeli intelligence. .

In addition to the estimated 5,000 to 9,000 militants killed, between 10,500 and 11,700 Hamas fighters were wounded, a US official told the Wall Street Journal, explaining that many of these may return to combat. The remaining fighters are likely to do so.”Two or three jobs“After they assumed the responsibilities of their fallen comrades,” retired Army Gen. Joseph Votel predicted.

Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007, also maintains the firepower to continue striking Israel – and IDF assets in the Palestinian territories -.For monthsAccording to the newspaper, which added that the group is currently trying to re-establish its police force in Gaza City despite the fact that a large part of the densely populated area has been reduced to rubble.

Israel itself estimates the initial number of Hamas fighters to be higher, at 30,000 or more, and has credited the IDF with killing more members of the group — 9,000 during the war plus 1,000 during the raid that preceded it. Its estimate of 16,000 wounded Palestinian militants was significantly higher, as was its claim regarding the severity of those wounds, with a senior Israeli military official telling the Wall Street Journal that half of those wounded would no longer return to combat.

The United States implicitly acknowledged the failure of the three-month Israeli bombing of Gaza to destroy Hamas, which was its stated goal in waging war on the Strip. The administration of President Joe Biden has repeatedly urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reduce civilian casualties and adopt a policy more “SurgicalIt is a strategy that targets high-ranking members of the organization rather than low-level fighters, even as it lowers its expectations from the obliteration of Hamas to its decline as a security threat.

In announcing the withdrawal of thousands of troops from Gaza earlier this month, West Jerusalem also appeared to acknowledge the failure of scorched earth tactics, which have claimed the lives of nearly 25,000 Palestinians, two-thirds of them women and children, according to the United Nations. Ministry of Health in Gaza. The reported high rate of civilian casualties has sparked allegations of genocidal intent by the international community, culminating in a case brought by South Africa against Israel at the International Court of Justice.