Yedioth Ahronoth: The Israeli army failed to eliminate Hamas

Yedioth Ahronoth reported that an investigation whose results were broadcast yesterday, Monday, revealed that the Israeli army failed to eliminate most of the battalions of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) in the Gaza Strip.

In a news report in the Israeli newspaper, military analyst Yoav Ziton discussed the results of the investigation conducted by CNN, in cooperation with the Critical Threats Project at the American Enterprise Institute and the Institute for the Study of War, and concluded that Hamas was able to rebuild its combat capabilities despite the passage of 10 months since the outbreak of the war in the Palestinian Strip.

According to the investigation, the Israeli army was only able to destroy 3 battalions out of 24 battalions affiliated with Hamas, while the ability of 13 battalions to carry out major attacks declined, and 8 of them maintained their combat effectiveness.

CNN reported, quoting American military experts, that it is clear that Hamas will not suffer a military defeat, and that the situation calls for a political solution.

A researcher at the Critical Threats Project questioned the IDF's accounts, saying that the Israelis claim to have cleared a place, but they have not completely cleared these areas, and have not defeated these fighters at all.

A senior IDF officer told the American news network about the difficulty of continuing the war in light of the increasing pressure from the United States and the world to stop the fighting. Another acknowledged the difficulty of defeating the Hamas brigades, saying that the army is drawn to any place where the movement “remains in place,” and he stressed that “Israeli society is not prepared to tolerate this manipulation forever.”

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The investigation's findings contradict Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's claims that victory is imminent and that military pressure on Hamas will lead to the release of prisoners.

Zaitoun quoted the investigation as saying that Hamas continued to work on rebuilding its military capabilities in central Gaza, and that the Israeli aggression increased the motivation of the people of the Strip to join the movement.

Officials in Gaza told CNN that Hamas elements are using buildings that were burned during the fighting as movement centers or as places to provide services to those affected, as part of efforts to rebuild the northern Gaza Strip from the rubble of buildings destroyed by the war.

The investigation was based on thousands of statements issued by the Israeli army and Hamas, and CNN published a map of active and inactive battalions in Gaza.