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Retired Israeli general says Hamas fighters in Gaza back to pre-war numbers

Sunday, 06 July 2025 7:15 PM [ Last Update: Sunday, 06 July 2025 7:15 PM ]

This file photo shows fighters of the al-Qassam Brigades, which is the military wing of the Palestinian Hamas resistance group.

Israeli reserve major-general Yitzhak Brik says the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas has regained its pre-war strength, contradicting the Israeli military’s accounts of progress in the besieged Palestinian territory.

Writing an opinion article published by the Hebrew-language Maariv daily newspaper, Brik called the reality on the ground for Israeli soldiers “grim”.

Brik further pointed out that Hamas now numbers about 40,000 resistance fighters, similar to its strength before the Israeli aggression began in Gaza.

“They continue to fight as guerrillas as they have been fighting since the beginning of the war,” Brik wrote.

“They were never an army, and therefore they have not lost their military capabilities as the Chief of Staff [of the Israeli Army] claims.”

Hamas has declared that "the resistance was waging a war of attrition in response to the relentless Israel genocide against civilians, surprising the enemy daily with renewed field tactics."

Palestinian resistance fighters in recent days have killed and injured a number of Israeli occupation forces in a series of ambushes, amid the regime’s escalated aggression on the besieged territory.

The Palestinian resistance movement of the Islamic Jihad’s armed wing on Saturday announced either killing or injuring at least 40 Israeli forces during a complex ambush targeting various groups of the troops in the northern part of the Gaza Strip.

The announcement was made on Friday by one of the commanders of the al-Quds Brigades, as the military wing is named, various resistance news outlets reported.

Israeli war minister admits Hamas ‘far from being defeated’ in Gaza

Observers also say Israel has lost the war against the Palestinian resistance groups in the besieged territory.

Observers say operations show the resistance group remains strong and steadfast, more than 20 months after the start of Israel's air and ground offensive in Gaza.

Rami Abu Zubaydah, a Palestinian military analyst, has said the latest resistance operations against invading Israeli forces in Gaza show Hamas is "switching from a defensive phase to tactical attack mode."

Israel has already expanded its ground aggression in Gaza, seeking to seize a large portion of the Palestinian territory.

Hamas has further stressed that the "absolute victory" that Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks of is nothing but an illusion to mislead his public.

The US-Israeli genocidal campaign escalates across Gaza, with intensified strikes on Gaza City leading to more civilian casualties.

Over 60 Palestinians were killed in the regime’s bombings of the Strip since the early hours of Sunday.

The death toll from the US-Israeli genocide in Gaza has now risen above 57,400 since October 2023, according to the health ministry of Gaza.

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