Over half of Hamas’ forces have been wiped out as Israel’s war goals are within reach: officials

The Israeli military has touted that their forces have killed more than 17,000 Hamas operatives in the Gaza Strip since the war began, with US officials saying the Jewish state has achieved “the vast majority” of its goals against the terrorists.

IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said about 56% of Hamas’ estimated 30,000 forces have been wiped out since Israel waged war following the Oct. 7 massacre.

Hagari said the blow has greatly affected Hamas’ ability to regroup and recover as small battalions have continued to resurface across Gaza after months of intense fighting.

5

5

The latest death count is about double what officials had previously estimated in January, when US intelligence found that about 20%-30% of Hamas forces were eradicated.

White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby says the update proves Israel has decimated the terror group’s military capabilities and leadership at all levels.

Kirby also reaffirmed that the US will continue to assist Israel in its ultimate goal of assuring Hamas is wiped out and no longer poses a danger to the Jewish state after more than 1,200 people were killed on Oct. 7.

“Hamas is not just a military organization. It is also an ideology, which still does not believe in the existence of the State of Israel, an ideology which continues to persist in the warped idea that what happened on the 7th of October ought to be able to happen again,” Kirby told reporters Thursday.

5

“So we’re going to continue to make sure that Israel has what it needs to defend itself against that threat,” he added.

Israeli and American officials did not mention what the terrorist kill count means in relation to the total death toll in Gaza, which has surpassed more than 40,000, according to the Hamas-run ministry of health, which does not differentiate between terror operatives and civilians.

Israel has accused Gaza’s health ministry of inflating the number of casualties, but officials have previously acknowledged that the ratio of terrorists to civilians killed was 1:2.

5

Along with touting Israel’s accomplishments in the war, Kirby attempted to downplay Hamas’ decision to skip out on Thursday’s cease-fire talks in Qatar.

The terror group said it would not attend the negotiations, calling on mediators to force Israel to agree to its demands for a permanent end to the war.

Kirby said that despite not attending Thursday’s meetings, Egyptian and Qatari mediators will still be relaying the information to Hamas.

5

“In the past, it has worked very similar to how it’s working in Doha today, where mediators will sit and discuss, work things out, and then those mediators will be in touch with Hamas, and then Hamas leaders in Doha communicate directly with Mr. Sinwar for final answers,” Kirby said.

Officials fear that a negative outcome to the cease-fire talks could very well embolden Iran to go ahead and launch a deadly retaliatory strike directly at the Jewish state over the assassination of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.

With Israel vowing to attack anyone who strikes them, and Hezbollah terrorists plotting their own attack, the tense situation is enough to trigger an all-out war in the Middle East.