Reference News Network said on December 18 that the British "Guardian" said on December 16 that Israel downplayed the narrative of Hamas's imminent defeat as the two sides seemed to start a long-term war.
Nine Israeli military personnel were killed in a week, including two senior commanders and several other officers who were killed in an ambush in the Shah Jayye community of Gaza City, reports said. Analysts and commentators have begun to question previous Israeli assessments of Hamas's combat capabilities.
While the IDF and Israel** have played up images of the surrender of Hamas militants and claimed to have killed thousands of Hamas militants, the public rhetoric of some high-ranking Israeli political and military figures has become more cautious.
According to the report, this week, during a meeting with U.S. *** advisers, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant and a number of other Israel** hinted at difficulties in destroying Hamas.
"Hamas is a terrorist organization that has been fighting Israel for more than a decade," Gallant said. They build infrastructure underground and above ground, and it is not easy to destroy them. It will take a while, it may last more than a few months, but we will win and we will destroy them. ”
Gallant's remarks were echoed by the head of IDF intelligence, Aharon Haliwa. He said he believed the war against Hamas would continue for many more months.
Gallant acknowledged that while IDF daily briefings described the progress of the offensive – particularly in the northern Gaza Strip – Hamas proved not so easy to destroy.
Instead, Hamas appears to be still engaged in close combat and ambushes – including last week's operation in Shahjayeh – and managing to fire rockets every day.
Michael Milstein of Tel Aviv University's Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies reportedly said it would be a mistake to treat Hamas as a regular army and think that its defeat would mean total defeat.
"I think it's a very flexible entity that combines the characteristics of a ruling party, an underground organization and a charity," he said. It is not the kind of organization where the entire structure collapses as soon as the Supreme Commander dies. ”
"Rather, it's an ideological organization and many people will fight to the end," he said. I do think that even if Israel kills (Hamas leader) Sinwar, someone else will take his place. Hamas was born that way. ”
According to the report, a poll conducted this week by the Palestinian Center for Policy Research seems to reinforce this perception of Hamas. In the West Bank, 44 percent of respondents said they supported Hamas, up from 12 percent in September, the survey found. In Gaza, Hamas has 42 percent support, up from 38 percent three months ago. (Compiled by Zhu Jie).