Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper said that Israeli army estimates indicate that the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) in the Gaza Strip has not lost its leaders, and that the majority of its fighters are still alive after 100 days of war.
The newspaper reported that army estimates indicate that the number of fighters from the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military arm of Hamas, on the eve of the October 7 attack reached about 30,000.
The occupation army claims that it killed 9,000 fighters in the Gaza Strip, including about 50 commanders of the Qassam Brigades.
Yesterday, Sunday, the military spokesman for the Phalange, Abu Ubaida, confirmed that the alleged military achievements announced by the enemy during its aggression against Gaza “are ridiculous things for us, and the day will come when we prove that these claims are false and defective.”
On the other hand, Abu Ubaida confirmed that the occupation army suffered heavy losses greater than what it incurred last October 7.
Guerrilla war
The Middle East Eye website previously quoted sources close to the political leadership of the Hamas movement as saying that the Israeli statistics in this regard are “complete nonsense, and that the losses among the ranks of the Qassam Brigades were very small.”
One source told the website that the total losses among the ranks of the Qassam Brigades were less than 10%, explaining that “the Qassam is a military movement with a central structure and a loose organizational circle. We have not heard of the central forces suffering serious losses.”
Another source said, “What is happening now in Gaza is a guerrilla war, and mobilizing a force in the thousands for this war is unnecessary and risky.”
He explained, “In lightning operations, fast teams with small numbers are sufficient. These teams are also small in terms of goals and minimizing losses.”
Among the most prominent military leaders whose martyrdom was announced by the brigades during the Battle of Al-Aqsa Flood is Ayman Nofal, a member of the General Military Council and commander of the Central Brigade in the Al-Qassam Brigades, and Ahmed Al-Ghandour, a member of the Military Council in the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, commander of the Northern Brigade.
The movement also mourned the “martyr leaders, the martyr leader Wael Rajab, the martyr leader Raafat Salman, and the martyr leader Ayman Siam.”
Source : Tel Aviv Tribune + Israeli press + Websites
