Live Update 
From the Liveblog of
Thursday, February 8, 2024
From the Liveblog of
Thursday, February 8, 2024
US intelligence officials reportedly tell Congress that Israel not close to defeating Hamas
Lazar Berman is The Times of Israel's diplomatic reporter
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (center) meets with IDF soldiers in Latrun, near Jerusalem, on February 5, 2024. (Haim Zach/GPO)
US intelligence officials told members of Congress earlier this week that Israel had damaged Hamas’s combat abilities, but is not close to achieving its war aim of eliminating the terrorist organization militarily, The New York Times reports, citing “American officials.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted throughout the war that destroying Hamas’s military and political capabilities, and bringing back all the hostages, are the primary aims of the ongoing war.
