The Israeli military claims to have eliminated over 17,000 terrorists in Gaza since October 7

The Israeli military has eliminated more than 17,000 terrorists from Hamas and other groups in the Gaza Strip since October 7, IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said on Thursday.

The Gaza Strip's Ministry of Health, run by the terrorist organization Hamas, recently claimed that around 40,000 Gazans have been killed after more than ten months of war. However, Hamas does not distinguish between civilians and armed terrorists. If the Hamas figure is correct, this means that around half of the deaths in the Gaza Strip are armed terrorists.

The Israel Defense Forces have also succeeded in eliminating a large part of Hamas’ top leadership, including former military commander Mohammed Deifhis deputy Marwan Issa and the former political leader Ismail HaniyaHowever, Hamas's supreme leader, Yahya Sinwar, is believed to still be hiding somewhere in the vast underground tunnel network beneath Gaza.

During the press conference, Hagari said the “significant fighting” by Israeli forces had dramatically weakened Hamas' ability to regroup and rearm. “We are determined to continue this,” he vowed.

The Israeli military is currently focused on tracking down Hamas members and destroying remaining Hamas infrastructure in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.

On Thursday, the Israeli military announced that it had identified and neutralized around 50 tunnels along the strategic Philadelphia Corridor, which runs along the border between Egypt and Gaza. These border tunnels played a crucial role in Hamas' efforts to smuggle new weapons and various goods into the coastal enclave. In recent days, Israeli troops have also eliminated around 100 terrorists in the Rafah area near the Egyptian border.

The Israel Defense Forces' 98th Division fought Hamas terrorists in the Khan Younis area, formerly a major Hamas stronghold. While mediators work on a ceasefire agreement for Gaza at a high-level summit in Doha, Qatar, the Israeli Air Force (IAF) attacked over 30 more Hamas positions, tunnels and booby-trapped buildings across the Gaza Strip.

Unnamed senior U.S. officials recently admitted in a New York Times article that the Israeli military had dramatically downgraded the ability of the terrorist group Hamas to pose a threat to the Jewish state. The unnamed Biden administration officials claims that Israel would not be able to completely destroy Hamas.

Former British Army officer Andrew Fox recently offered a different perspective on the fighting between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. In an article in Tablet Magazine titled:The boot of the Israeli armed forces is the throat of Hamas“Fox argued that Israel is currently winning the war against Hamas. Fox also noted that the Israeli military's strategy differs from conventional Western military strategies.

“The Israeli military's style of warfare is not the Western style of warfare. It is not designed to conduct protracted campaigns of attrition. It is a plundering army,” Fox said. ratedHe pointed out that the Israeli military had achieved impressive success in the fight against Hamas, eliminating over 17,000 terrorists, including many high-ranking terrorist commanders.

“In less than 10 months, this is an impressive feat by the Israeli forces, given Hamas's remarkable built-in defense capabilities. Completing the task will take even longer,” Fox wrote.

He concluded that only US pressure on Israel could prevent Israeli forces from crushing Hamas.

“The only thing that can save the victory and ensure the survival of the Iran-backed Palestinian terror group on Israel's border is Washington,” Fox wrote.