If they can't beat small militia in an imprisoned, impoverished small area like Gaza for 8 months, then how can one believe they can deal a fatal punch, in a conventional war, to its various regional enemies??
While Israel has killed thousands of Hamas terrorists, including senior commanders, several units have regained fighting capacity in areas previously cleared by the IDF.
www.jpost.com
Israel's claims that Hamas is nearly destroyed are false, battalions are rebuilding - CNN
While Israel has killed thousands of Hamas terrorists, including senior commanders, several units have regained fighting capacity in areas previously cleared by the IDF.
Almost half of Hamas’s military battalions in northern and central Gaza have rebuilt their fighting capabilities, according to an investigative study by CNN, American Enterprise Institute’s Critical Threats Project (CTP), and the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), published on Monday.
Despite nearly ten months of fighting, forensic analyses of Hamas’
al-Qassam brigades, drawing on Israeli and Hamas military statements, footage, and interviews with experts and eyewitnesses, cast doubt on the validity of Netanyahu’s “victory is in sight” speech at Congress.
While Israel has dealt blows to Hamas, killing multiple terrorists and eliminating top commanders, several units have regained fighting capacity in areas previously cleared by the IDF, CNN said.
Hamas’ military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, is composed of 24 battalions disseminated across the Gaza Strip. At the beginning of last month, the IDF had only successfully destroyed three of the 24 battalions, according to the assessments by CTP and ISW.
For a unit to be destroyed, it has to be unable to complete its objectives, CNN continued.
Of the 24, eight remain combat-effective and can fight against IDF troops. CTP and ISW rated units as combat-effective when they were able to defend the ground using sophisticated methods and weapons.
The other 13 battalions have had moderate reduction in their combat capabilities and can conduct smaller but less successful guerilla-style attacks.
“The Israelis would say that they cleared a place, but they haven’t fully cleared these areas. They haven’t defeated these fighters at all,” said Brian Carter, Middle East portfolio manager for CTP, who led the joint research. “[Hamas] are ready to fight and want to fight.”