Report reflects on how Hamas is still capable of harming Israel and Israeli forces in Gaza for months and notes that the group is attempting to reconstitute its police force in parts of Gaza City.
Israel National News Jan 21, 2024, 8:34 AM
Hamas terrorists in GazaAbed Rahim Khatib/Flash90
Israeli forces have killed 20% to 30% of Hamas’s fighters, The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, citing US intelligence estimates.This is in line with IDF predictions that the war will take a year since Hamas terrorists are estimated at 30,000.
The report furthermore states that the US estimate found that the terror organization still has enough munitions to continue striking Israel and Israeli forces in Gaza for months and that the group is attempting to reestablish its police force in parts of Gaza City.
According to the report the US estimated that Hamas had between 25,000 and 30,000 terrorists before the war in addition to thousands of police and other forces.
The report says that Israel estimates that it killed approximately 9,000 terrorists in Gaza since the war began along with more than 1,000 during the October 7th attack, amounting to about 30% of the group’s total fighting force.
In any case, the estimates mean that it will take a long time to achieve Israel’s goal to eliminate the terror organization once and for all. Citing Israeli officials and Gaza residents, the report notes that, Hamas is attempting to reassert its authority in the northern Gaza Strip by putting small groups of police and emergency services to patrol the streets.
A spokeswoman for the US’s Office of the Director of National Intelligence declined to comment on the report. The Israeli military restated its own estimated death toll for Hamas and declined to elaborate. Hamas didn’t respond to a request by the Wall Street Journal for comment.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.