Hamas has lost twenty to thirty percent of its fighters after months of Israel’s war on Gaza, meaning it is far from destroying Hamas in Gaza, a report by US intelligence agencies concludes.
In a report by the US news outlet Wall Street Journal, the agencies also found Hamas still has enough weaponry to continue striking Israeli forces and launch rockets into Israel for months.
It said even though individual Hamas fighters may have to take on more tasks since they have lost comrades, their incapacitation is impossible, and have changed their operational tactics to adjust.
The report also said Israeli officials estimate up to 16,000 wounded Hamas fighters and about half of those will not be returning to the battlefield. However, US estimates put that number between 10,500 and 11,700 fighters, many of whom could return.
Israel’s opposition leader Yair Lapid says to get the captives back, Israel should stop its attack on Gaza. If you want to eradicate Hamas, you must first take out the abductees.
I already said in the Knesset and to the prime minister personally that there is full backing for any deal, no matter how painful it may be. If the price is a cessation of hostilities, let that be the price, Lapid added.
Thousands of Israelis protested in Tel Aviv calling for new elections in a sign of the pressure Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government faces at home,. Others demonstrated outside his house, joining families of the more than 100 remaining captives held in Gaza. They fear Israel’s military activity further endangers hostages’ lives.
Netanyahu is also under heat to appease members of his right-wing ruling coalition by intensifying the war against Hamas while contending with calls for restraint from the United States.
During Israeli attacks on Rafah as well as the Jabalia and al-Bureij refugee camps, several Palestinians went through killing, while Israel continued to bombard Khan Younis. Arrests continue in Israeli raids on the occupied West Bank as the father of a teen killed there slams US support for Israel.
In Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7, at least over 25,000 people stand killed and 62,388 wounded. The revised death toll in Israel from the October 7 Hamas attack stands at 1,139.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says full Israeli security control is contrary to a Palestinian State. He has reaffirmed his opposition to the creation of a Palestinian state, drawing criticism from his US ally, which is still advocating a two-state solution.
About a report on summary executions, the UN’s special rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian Territories, Francesca Albanese says disturbing Western governments not condemning Israel’s unspeakable crimes.
The EU’s top diplomat Josep Borrell says that if we do not intervene strongly, the spiral of hate and violence will continue from generation to generation, from funeral to funeral, as the seeds of hatred that are being sown in Gaza today flourish.
He added by saying that we believe that a two-state solution must be imposed from outside to bring peace. Although we insist, Israel is reaffirming its refusal of this solution.
