close
close
hsuses

Israel: Half of Hamas military leadership killed since October 7

Theo

The Israeli military announced on Tuesday that it had eliminated half of Hamas’ military leadership since the Gaza war began more than nine months ago, in addition to about 14,000 fighters who were also killed or arrested during the conflict.

The announcement, which the Washington Post could not independently verify, came amid further reports of air strikes in Gaza. At least 17 people were killed in Mawasi, a humanitarian zone in the southern city of Khan Younis, and more than 60 people have died across the Gaza Strip, according to local health authorities.

Israel did not include Mohammed Deif, the leader of Hamas’s armed wing, the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, in its list of eliminated Hamas military leaders.

Israeli forces have said that Deif, one of the organization’s leading figures, was the intended target of an attack on Khan Younis on Saturday that local authorities said killed 90 people. Hamas has repeatedly denied that Deif was killed in the attack. The group has accused Israel of using the attacks to thwart recent ceasefire talks backed by the Biden administration, even as ground troops in Gaza are being scaled back.

While fighting in Gaza has been almost non-stop since Hamas-led attacks on Israel on October 7, Israel has only sporadically released updates on how many of the militant group’s leaders and fighters have been killed in its response.

In a podcast in May, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that around 30,000 people had died in Gaza and that Hamas fighters accounted for “almost half” of those victims, adding that the ratio of civilians to fighters killed was “about one to one.”

The Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and fighters but says the majority of the dead are women and children, says at least 38,713 people have been killed and 89,166 injured since October 7.

GETTING CAUGHT

Stories to keep you up to date

Israel estimates that around 1,200 people were killed in the Hamas attack on October 7, including over 300 soldiers. More than 320 people have been killed since the start of military operations in the Gaza Strip.

In its statement on Tuesday, the Israeli military said it was focusing its efforts on “tracking down terrorists who are establishing bases and locations in sensitive locations throughout the Gaza Strip, including hospitals, schools and humanitarian shelters.”

“These areas are being cynically exploited by terrorists who are trying to use them as hideouts and bases for terrorism,” the statement said. The attacks on the infrastructure were carried out “in accordance with international law.”

Related Posts