Hamas still have enough munitions, men to strike Israel: report

WASHINGTON: A major newspaper of the United States quoting US intelligence sources estimated that the Palestinian group Hamas “still has enough munitions to continue striking Israel and Israeli forces in Gaza for months.”

The Wall Street Journal in a report said that the US also estimates that Hamas had up to 30,000 fighters before the war, with 20 to 30 percent of them killed by fighting Israeli forces.

The article says the toll falls short of Israel’s goal of destroying the group.

The report quotes a US official as saying the United States estimates around 11,000 fighters have been wounded and that “many of those could eventually return to the battlefield.”

Another article, also carried by the WSJ, says, the US, Egypt and Qatar are pushing “Israel and Hamas to join a phased diplomatic process” that would eventually lead to an end to the war in Gaza. It cites diplomats involved in mediating the talks.

The story says mediators suggested a 90-day plan that would pause fighting for an unspecified number of days.

It is to be mentioned here that Israel continued its military offensive in Khan Younis and other parts of Gaza on Sunday. Health officials in the enclave said with 178 deaths the overall death toll in Gaza has reached to 25,105.