The militant group RUTHLESS Hamas has lost half its members since it launched its attack on Israel and murdered 1,200 civilians on October 7.
The terrorist organization had no choice but to rely on hit-and-run insurgent tactics to fend off Israeli forces.
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Hamas, which governs the densely populated enclave of Gaza, has been reduced to between 9,000 and 12,000 fighters, according to three senior U.S. officials familiar with the matter. battle field developments.
The group is estimated to have had between 20,000 and 25,000 members before launching its unprecedented attack on Israel last year.
Meanwhile, Israel lost around 300 soldiers in the war, it claims.
Hamas militants now rely largely on ambushes and improvised bombs to hit Israeli targets rather than engaging in protracted battles with Israeli forces, an official said. Reuters.
The change in tactics comes as the Israeli military approaches Rafah, a city in southern Gaza near the border with Egypt, where Israel says Hamas militants are hiding.
Israel believes that terrorists try to hide among civilians, seeking shelter in places such as schools.
Israel’s military said it “eliminated” several militants in an offensive against a suspected “Hamas compound” at a UN school in Gaza overnight, as reports emerged that 39 Palestinians – including five children – had died.
Gaza resident Wissam Ibrahim told Reuters: “In previous months, Hamas fighters intercepted, attacked and shot at Israeli troops as they entered their territory.
“But now, there is a notable change in their mode of operations, they wait for them to be mobilized and then begin their ambushes and attacks.”
Hamas’ new way of operating – and its continued supply of weapons, received through tunnels and aided by weapons captured from Israeli forces – could sustain its insurgency for months, US officials said.
Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s national security adviser said the war could last until at least the end of 2024.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman told Reuters that Hamas had lost about half of its fighting strength and said Israel’s military was adapting to the group’s change in tactics.
He said: “There is never an objective to kill all terrorists on the ground. That’s not a realistic goal.
“Destroying Hamas as a governing authority is an achievable and achievable military objective.”
Hamas’ sprawling 311-mile labyrinth of tunnels is now covered in debris caused by ongoing airstrikes, which experts say could aid the militants in their ambushes and attacks.
Fighters are able to travel underground and emerge from the rubble to attack Israeli forces.
Experts say terrorists may also be using this advantage to retreat deeper into Gaza City and lure Israelis into their “killing zones.”
But Hamas has employed sinister tactics since the start of the war, according to Israel, even using recordings of children shouting “save me!” to trick IDF troops into deadly traps.
Insurgent tactics used by Hamas
By Jessica Baker
HAMAS fighters are said to be avoiding prolonged battles with Israeli forces as they approach Rafah, relying instead on improvised bombs and ambushes to hit targets.
Israel said in December that Hamas was using recordings of screaming children to lure its troops into deadly traps.
In acts described as “psychological warfare” against Israeli soldiers, Israeli spokesman Avi Hyman said Hamas terrorists created scenarios that would make Israeli troops think they had found hostages.
They outfitted the buildings with devices that played sounds of screaming children, luring soldiers to enter, and then ambushed them, he said.
The Israeli military claimed that terrorists stuffed bombs into children’s backpacks and attached explosives to the corpses so that anyone trying to move the dead would be injured.
And the debris caused by ongoing airstrikes in the Gaza Strip was considered by experts to have provided Hamas with cover to hide its militants, snipers and explosives.
The group’s 311-mile maze of tunnels allows them to cover large swaths of ground and get under rubble to attack, experts said.
Old US Army Colonel Joe Buccino said Hamas was using the method to weaken the Israeli army’s advantages with its superior technology.
He said: “The IDF leadership understands that engaging in combat in densely populated urban areas and venturing underground will strip the Israeli military of most of its technological advantages, including advanced surveillance systems, sensors and communications equipment.
“This would offer Hamas an advantage both above and below ground.”
Israeli spokesman Avi Hyman told The Sun in December about the “psychological warfare” waged by Hamas against Israeli soldiers.
He said: “We have heard reports of them creating scenarios whereby soldiers would think there are hostages in a specific area and then ambush them.
“So we heard reports of them playing with Israeli children saying, ‘Save me! Save me,’ you know, inside booby-trapped buildings.”
Hyman claimed to have seen video evidence of “rigged” children’s toys fixed with a device that played Israeli music and noises that could have come from young children.
Israeli forces said at the time that Hamas terrorists had planted a series of booby traps in killing zones, including a child pink backpack stuffed with a bomb.
Chilling footage showed an IDF soldier opening his backpack to reveal an explosive device.
The military said: “The bag contained a booby trap, containing a remotely activated explosive device – weighing 7kg.
“Hamas chose to purposely place a trap in a child’s backpack in the hope that a well-intentioned civilian would catch it.”
The Israel Defense Forces further alleged that Hamas attached speakers that played noises that sounded like the screams of distressed children in dolls, and even attached bombs to the bodies of dead Israelis.
Dina Zaslacski, a friend of murdered Canadian-Israeli mother Adi Vital-Kaploun, said: “They put bombs all over her body, and her father was at home. Thank God he didn’t open the door.”
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
