New York Times: Israel’s military operations in Gaza have weakened Hamas, but it has not achieved the war primary goals

GAZA STRIP —  The New York Times published a new report about the stark reality of Israel’s fight in Gaza.

The report indicated that Israeli military operations in Gaza led to weakening the Palestinian Hamas movement, the deterioration of most of its battalions and the killing of thousands of its members, but Israel did not achieve its basic goals of the war, including freeing hostages and fully destroying Hamas.

Quoting U.S. and Israeli officials, The New York Times stated that despite Hamas’s heavy losses, much of its top leadership in Gaza remains in place, ensconced in a vast underground network of tunnels and operations centers.

U.S. officials declared that these tunnels will allow Hamas to survive and rebuild its capabilities once the fighting stops, as Israel has not been able to destroy the tunnels that Hamas spent years building.

Citing an official in Israeli intelligence, the report quoted that about 70% of Hamas strategic headquarters was eliminated.

The report also noted that Israel is likely to face armed resistance from Hamas for years to come, which allows these elements to regain strength and surprise the Israeli forces.

The report stressed that Hamas has lost a significant amount of combat power, and rebuilding will take time, but this does not mean that Hamas has been completely destroyed, and it still has many forces above and below the ground, and crushing Hamas may take years.