The Israeli military has boasted that its forces have killed more than 17,000 Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip since the war began. US officials said the Jewish state had achieved “the vast majority” of its objectives in the fight against the terrorists.
IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said about 56 percent of the estimated 30,000 Hamas forces have been wiped out since Israel went to war after the October 7 massacre.
Hagari said the blow had severely hampered Hamas’ ability to regroup and recover, as small battalions continue to re-emerge across the Gaza Strip after months of heavy fighting.
The latest death toll is double the authorities’ previous estimate in January, when US intelligence said that about 20 to 30 percent of Hamas forces had been wiped out.
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the update shows that Israel has decimated the terror group’s military capabilities and leadership at all levels.
Kirby also reiterated that the United States will continue to support Israel in achieving its ultimate goal: eliminating Hamas so that it no longer poses a threat to the Jewish state after more than 1,200 people were killed on October 7.
“Hamas is not just a military organization. It is also an ideology that still does not believe in the existence of the State of Israel, an ideology that continues to cling to the distorted idea that what happened on October 7 could happen again,” Kirby told reporters on Thursday.
“That is why we will continue to ensure that Israel has everything it needs to defend itself against this threat,” he added.
Israeli and American officials did not mention what the number of terrorists killed means in relation to the total death toll in Gaza. According to the Hamas-run Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between terrorists and civilians, that number is over 40,000.
Israel accuses the Health Ministry in the Gaza Strip of exaggerating the number of victims. Officials had previously admitted, however, that the ratio between terrorists killed and civilians killed was 1:2.
In addition to praising Israel’s successes in the war, Kirby also sought to downplay Hamas’ decision to stay away from ceasefire talks in Qatar on Thursday.
The terrorist group said it would not participate in the negotiations and called on mediators to force Israel to agree to its demands for a permanent end to the war.
Kirby said Egyptian and Qatari mediators would pass the information on to Hamas despite their absence from Thursday’s meetings.
“In the past, it was very similar to what is happening in Doha today. Mediators meet there, discuss things and sort things out. Then those mediators contact Hamas. Then the Hamas leaders in Doha contact Mr. Sinwar directly to get final answers,” Kirby said.
Officials fear that a negative outcome of the ceasefire talks could encourage Iran to launch a deadly retaliatory strike directly against the Jewish state for the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.
Israel has vowed to attack anyone who attacks it, and Hezbollah terrorists are already planning attacks of their own. The tension is enough to trigger a full-scale war in the Middle East.
