Israel is determined to resume the war against Hamas after the pause in fighting, which ends on Wednesday. The big question is what is left of Hamas in the meantime.
Stieven Ramdharie29 November 2023, 11:05
In videos regularly released by members of Hamas’s military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the movement is still very much alive. Fighters walk through the deserted and destroyed streets of Gaza City, looking for Israeli tanks and armored personnel carriers. Once one is found, a Hamas fighter appears around the corner and fires an anti-tank grenade. The Merkava tank appears to have been hit.
Another video shows a fighter in the hallway of a house ready to fire his RPG rocket launcher straight through the window. The target is a house further away, where Israeli soldiers are stationed. Other footage, which has not been verified by independent sources, shows Hamas fighters watching Israeli soldiers pass by meters away from the bushes.
Over by author
Stieven Ramdharie has been foreign editor of De Volkskrant for over 20 years, with defense as his main specialism.
How badly has Hamas been hit after almost fifty days of continuous attacks by the Israeli air force, navy and army? That is the big question now that the war has been frozen for a while.
When the pause in fighting ends this week, Israel says it will resume bombings and ground operations in full force. The army is preparing to expand the battle to the south of the Gaza Strip. According to the Israeli government, thousands of Hamas fighters are also there.
The hunt will also be opened for the most important Hamas leaders, who, according to Israel, are all hiding in the southern part of Gaza. This should achieve the complete dismantling of Hamas in this second phase of the war, according to Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, the country’s highest military officer.
If the Israeli army’s figures are correct, Hamas has already been dealt a major blow militarily so far. More than fifteen thousand ‘terrorist targets’ have now reportedly been attacked, mainly by the Israeli air force, in an area of less than 400 square kilometers.
🔴 Prior to the operational pause, IDF aircraft eliminated five senior Hamas commanders in Gaza:
· Ahmed Ghandour, Commander of Hamas’ Northern Gaza Brigade
· Aiman Siam, Head of Hamas’ Rockets Array
· Wael Rajeb, Deputy Commander of Hamas’ Northern Gaza Brigade
· Farsan Halifa,… pic.twitter.com/iter9OdBnX— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) 27 november 2023
Tunnels and launch facilities
In addition to Hamas command centers, Israel bombarded tunnels, rocket launch sites, weapons depots and other warehouses. Some 6,000 weapons have also been seized in seven weeks, ranging from anti-tank missiles and short-range missiles to anti-aircraft missiles to shoot down helicopters and fighter planes.
The Israeli army also says it has closed or destroyed about six hundred tunnel entrances. It is unclear how many Hamas fighters have been killed or injured in the heavy bombings so far. Hamas is silent about this. Israel has not disclosed how many fighters the Israeli army has captured.
Before the war began, Israel estimated that Hamas had about thirty thousand fighters. Some of them were killed or captured in Hamas’s October 7 terrorist attack on Israeli territory.
Israel takes into account that a significant portion of Hamas fighters have moved south. This after Israel – before starting its ground operation in Gaza – ordered the residents of the northern part of the Gaza Strip to move to the southern part.
“We will use the same amount of power and more”: Israeli military operation will resume with greater strength, cover entire Gaza Strip once ongoing Israel-Hamas truce is over, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant threatenshttps://t.co/9JnvCoO12d
— DAILY SABAH (@DailySabah) 28 november 2023
Killed Hamas commanders
Israel regularly reports that it has killed a key Hamas commander in an airstrike, including with drones – which continuously monitor Gaza. For example, the army announced on Sunday that five leading Hamas commanders had been ‘eliminated’ by air strikes before the start of the pause in fighting.
They also include Ahmed Ghandour, commander of Hamas units in the northern part of the Gaza Strip and one of the movement’s top military leaders. Hamas confirmed the deaths of four of the five commanders.
Earlier this month, Israel announced that it had bombed several Hamas underground tunnels where key commanders, including Ghandour, are believed to be hiding. By continuously targeting Hamas’ tunnel network, Israel hopes to kill as many fighters and commanders as possible.
Because Israel is bent on destroying Hamas and northern Gaza is already largely under Israeli control, it will ultimately have to settle the battle in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.
Hamas escape: How Netanyahu had the chance to kill Yahya Sinwar six times
A plan to eliminate the leader of Hamas in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, has been presented to Prime Minister Netanyahu at least 6 times in recent years – he has missed every opportunity.https://t.co/g0U0LvHtzv
— The Jerusalem Post (@Jerusalem_Post) 28 november 2023
Attacks with greater precision
It remains to be seen whether the Israeli army will be given the space to do so. To prevent an even greater humanitarian tragedy, the United States has warned Prime Minister Netanyahu that Israeli strikes must be carried out with greater precision than has been achieved so far in the northern Gaza Strip, it was announced on Tuesday.
The leader of Hamas in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, can only hope that he can hold his ground in the south of the Gaza Strip while Israel comes under heavy diplomatic pressure, especially from the US, to stop the fighting.
Senior Arab and Palestinian officials have told Hamas leadership that Israel will defeat the movement no matter what, Israeli TV channel Channel 12 reported last week. In order to prevent further destruction of Gaza, Hamas leaders are said to have been called on to stop the fighting. It is not known how Hamas leadership responded to that call.
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2023-11-29 10:05:38
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