After eight months of war, about half of Hamas’s forces are dead compared to about 300 IDF troops who lost their lives, Reuters reported on Thursday.

According to US estimates, the terror group had about 20,000-25,000 terrorists before October 7th and now has between 9,000 and 12,000 terrorists.

The terror group has changed its tactics and instead of engaging in outright confrontations with IDF forces in Gaza, is relying on ambushes and improvised bombs.

Gazan resident Wissam Ibraham told Reuters: “In earlier months, Hamas fighters would intercept, engage and fire at Israeli troops as soon as they pushed into their territory. But now, there is a notable shift in their mode of operations, they wait for them to deploy and then they start their ambushes and attacks.”

The US officials said that the new Hamas tactics could sustain a Hamas insurgency for months, confirming what Israel’s National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi said last week – that the war in Gaza will last for at least another seven months.

Peter Lerner, an IDF spokesperson, acknowledged to Reuters that the IDF can’t eliminate every Hamas terrorist or destroy every Hamas tunnel.

“There is never a goal to kill each and every last terrorist on the ground. That’s not a realistic goal. Destroying Hamas as a governing authority is an achievable and attainable military objective,” he added.

A Biden administration official said that Hamas has shown the ability to withdraw rapidly after attacks, take cover, regroup, and pop up again in areas that Israel already cleared.

Lerner agreed that Israel faced a protracted battle to defeat Hamas, which has ruled the Gaza Strip since 2006. “There is no quick fix after 17 years of them building their capabilities,” he said.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)