The Wall Street Journal confirmed on Sunday that US intelligence estimates confirmed that the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) still has enough ammunition to strike Israel for several more months, and it quoted Israeli officials as admitting that the goal of destroying Hamas during the war on Gaza “was not achieved,” despite Air and ground campaign and massive destruction.
The newspaper quoted American officials as confirming that the Hamas movement is restructuring its police force in parts of Gaza City and the northern Gaza Strip, in addition to providing emergency services, stressing that the movement’s survival raises questions about the possibility of Israel achieving its goals in the war.
An Israeli military officer also confirmed to the newspaper that Hamas authorities linked to the Ministry of Interior had returned to Gaza City, including areas that the Israeli army said were under its control.
Flexibility in combat
Israeli officials acknowledged to the newspaper that Hamas fighters are adapting to the fighting, and military analysts said that the movement’s new tactics are to fight in smaller groups and hide among the ambushes it sets for Israeli forces, which shows its ability to withstand despite the destruction of large areas in the Gaza Strip.
Retired Army General Joseph Votel – who led US military operations in the Middle East – confirmed to the newspaper that Hamas is resilient and has shown that it is still capable of fighting despite its losses, as he put it.
US intelligence estimated that the Hamas movement has lost about 20 to 30% of its fighters since the beginning of the war, while the fighters are undertaking more missions to make up for the shortage, but the movement denied suffering significant losses in the number of its fighters, according to the newspaper.
The newspaper quoted the American intelligence report that Hamas had between 25,000 and 30,000 fighters before the war, in addition to thousands of policemen and other forces.
The newspaper confirmed that Israel withdrew thousands of troops from Gaza after pressure from the United States to move towards another phase of fighting targeting the leadership of the Hamas movement.
The Washington Post newspaper said two days ago that the view of Washington and many Israeli army commanders is that Israel is far from defeating Hamas.
