- Hamas fighting force reduced by half - US officials
- Group relying on ambushes, improvised bombs, they say
- Such tactics could sustain a lengthy insurgency
- ‘There is no quick fix,’ says Israeli military
WASHINGTON, June 6 (Reuters) - Hamas has seen about half its forces wiped out in eight months of war and is relying on hit-and-run insurgent tactics to frustrate Israel’s attempts to take control of Gaza, U.S. and Israeli officials told Reuters. The enclave’s ruling group has been reduced to between 9,000 and 12,000 fighters, according to three senior U.S. officials familiar with battlefield developments, down from American estimates , opens new tab of 20,000-25,000 before the conflict. By contrast, Israel says it has lost almost 300 troops in the Gaza campaign. Hamas fighters are now largely avoiding sustained skirmishes with Israeli forces closing in on the southernmost city of Rafah, instead relying on ambushes and improvised bombs to hit targets often behind enemy lines, one of the officials said.
Depends if your definition of “hamas” includes Palestinian civilians, which I suspect it might.
Of course not, civilians are stuck in the middle because of Hamas.
Right. And Israel has the right to actually defend itself. Where the issue happens is that indiscriminate bombing in densely populated areas does not constitute “self defense.” Nor does sniping journalists, dropping precision munitions on aid convoys, dropping thousand pound bombs on refugee camps, using white phosphorus anywhere near a city, collective punishment such as cutting access to aid and water for millions of people (actual war crime by the way), or literally anything that’s occurred in the west bank.
So when people say they support Palestine, that’s what they mean. Not hamas. Don’t be disingenuous.
Not all people, don’t be naive. Many want the Jews to disappear and don’t give two F’s what happens to them.
Remember when people chant “from the river to the sea” , what it actually means.
The slogan From the River to the Sea is about Palestinian liberation that started in the 60s by the PLO for a democratic secular state, not Genocide. The Syrian leader Hafez al-Assad in 1966 maybe, but he’s not Palestinian.
Maybe that’s where it originated, but it’s not why they chant it now.
They want Jews gone from that area, one way or another.
They’ve explained themselves so many times and yet you still somehow know better than them what they’re protesting for. Amazing.
Would you call me antisemitic for saying Israel’s leadership is genocidal?
Please. Most protestors don’t know anything in the USA/Canada and are brainwashed students.
Look, Israel is in a war. Civilians get killed unfortunately. Some soldiers are acting out of line and doing what they want based on hatred, and they should be held accountable.
Is Bibi also targeting civilians? Yes and no, it’s hard to say directly.
Don’t believe everything either side tells you.
Do you want to discuss the over 500 incitements of genocide? When it comes to intent, Israel’s intent has been documented more than most
https://law4palestine.org/law-for-palestine-releases-database-with-500-instances-of-israeli-incitement-to-genocide-continuously-updated/