From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, July 16, 2024
IDF gearing up for end of Gaza war, says remaining Hamas fighters in ‘survival mode’
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
The war against Hamas in Gaza is not going to last indefinitely, according to the IDF.
The military says it is “taking advantage of every minute” until a potential hostage deal is reached, and is prepared to deal with the consequences of a truce with Hamas, which may include the IDF being forced to withdraw entirely from the Strip.
Regardless of a hostage deal, low-intensity operations against the terror group will likely continue for a long period, but there is an end in sight, sources say, as the military increasingly sees Hamas struggling to fight back.
The IDF has in recent months seen Hamas operatives and commanders more and more leave the terror group’s hideout tunnels in the Gaza Strip, and instead position command centers, staging grounds, and even makeshift weapons manufacturing within civilian sites.
In recent weeks, more than 50 airstrikes have been carried out against Hamas positions embedded within schools, hospitals, and other civilian sites used as shelters for Palestinian civilians, the IDF says.
According to military assessments, Hamas operatives are finding it difficult to remain inside tunnels for such a long period — nine months since the onset of the war — and are therefore moving to above-ground sites, while hiding among civilians.
The IDF assessments also claim that Hamas is suffering from severe morale issues as the fighting goes on, and thousands are fleeing army operations and choosing not to fight.
At the same time, the terror group is also running into weapon shortages. The IDF recently recovered a document listing the current inventory of the Shejaiya Battalion, according to which it had lost more than two-thirds of its members and was running low on RPGs, assault rifles, and explosives.
The terror group has been described by the IDF as in “survival mode” in recent months, and not the same organization as it was before October 7.
Still, the IDF has also assessed that Hamas maintains the capability to attack troops in Gaza and launch rocket attacks on Israel, including long-range fire on Tel Aviv or Jerusalem.
The IDF also believes that Hamas does not possess any major rocket manufacturing capabilities anymore, after its main factories were destroyed in operations. The terror group can produce some weapons, although of a much lower quality, according to the assessments.
The military says it is tracking such attempts and has targeted new manufacturing sites. In a recent operation, commandos raided UNRWA’s headquarters in Gaza City after receiving indications that Hamas was building explosive-laden drones to launch at troops. At least one such drone was found in the raid.
Also at the UNRWA headquarters, the IDF says it found evidence of Hamas recruiting new operatives. These fresh recruits are also believed by the military to be of much lower quality than its existing fighters.
Separately, while Hamas has lost several senior commanders amid the fighting, a handful still remain, according to the latest IDF assessments, including the commanders of the Rafah and Gaza City brigades, and the head of the terror group’s intelligence, operations, manufacturing, and home front divisions.
The IDF is working to kill Hamas’s top commanders, as well as members of the terror group who are considered “sources of knowledge” in the fields of engineering, chemistry, and electronics, which would help the group rebuild itself.
Meanwhile, in the past two weeks, more than 1,000 terror operatives have been killed across Gaza, according to the military.
