Hamas is relying on hit-and-run insurgency tactics to frustrate Israel’s attempts to take control of Gaza.
US officials said the enclave’s ruling group has been reduced to between 9,000 and 12,000 fighters. This is down from 20,000-25,000 before the conflict. Israel says it has lost almost 300 troops in the Gaza campaign.
Hamas fighters are now avoiding sustained skirmishes with Israeli forces closing in on the southernmost city of Rafah. They are relying on ambushes and improvised bombs to hit targets often behind enemy lines.
Several Gaza residents including Wissam Ibrahim said they too had observed a shift in tactics.
“In earlier months, Hamas fighters would intercept, engage, and fire at Israeli troops as soon as they pushed into their territory. But now, there is a notable shift in their mode of operations, they wait for them to deploy and then they start their ambushes and attacks.”
US officials said such tactics could sustain a Hamas insurgency for months to come. It is aided by weapons smuggled into Gaza via tunnels and others repurposed from unexploded ordinance or captured from Israeli forces.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s national security adviser also said last week the war could last until the end of 2024 at least.
A Hamas spokesperson didn’t respond to requests for comment on its battlefield strategy.
Some of the group’s fighters are videotaping their ambushes of Israeli troops, before editing and posting them on Telegram and other social media apps. This is part of a propaganda drive
Spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Peter Lerner said they were still some way from destroying Hamas. He confirmed Hamas had lost roughly half of its fighting force.
With inputs from Reuters
