Despite more than a year of military operations against the Hamas terrorist organization, Hamas has recruited between 12,000 and 23,000 new fighters, Israel’s Channel 12 news reported, confirmed by the Jerusalem Post on Wednesday night.
According to the new report, Hamas currently commands a surprisingly high number of between 20,000 and 23,000 terrorist fighters if combined with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) forces present in the Gaza Strip. Until recently, the Jerusalem Post reported, terrorist forces were estimated to be reduced to about 12,000 fighters.
In February, then-Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said that Israel had effectively neutralized 20,000 terrorists in Gaza – approximately two-thirds – of Hamas’ entire fighting force, estimated to be around 30,000. In addition, Since the start of the war in October 2023, more than 6,000 Gazans have been detained by the Israel Defense Forces. Of these, approximately 4,300 remain in custody, while 2,200 have been returned to Gaza after being considered less dangerous.
“They have 10,000 dead terrorists and another 10,000 wounded who are not functioning,” Gallant said at the time. “It’s a blow that is eroding their ability [to fight], but you have to reach all the places,” he added.
“Before it launched this war against Israel on October 7, Hamas had an estimated 30,000 terrorists,” observed Mark Dubowitz, the CEO of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), a think tank based in Washington, D.C., in February. […]
— Read More: allisrael.com
