US intelligence officials speaking with The New York Times said that Israel will not be able to defeat Hamas and continuing to bomb Gaza will kill more civilians. Some national security officials expressed surprise at how much Israel has degraded Hamas over the ten-month onslaught but acknowledged that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) cannot prevent the Palestinian group’s reorganization.
According to The Times, “Israel has achieved all that it can militarily in Gaza, according to senior American officials, who say continued bombings are only increasing risks to civilians.” The report adds that several high-level officials traveling to the Middle East plan to tell Tel Aviv “that there is little more Israel can accomplish against Hamas.”
The current and former national security officials touted Israel’s genocidal campaign in Gaza as surprisingly effective in degrading Hamas. However, the officials admit the IDF has been unable to destroy the tunnel network or keep Hamas from reestablishing itself after Israel forces withdraw.
“[Hamas’s tunnel] network has proved much larger than Israel anticipated, and it remains an effective way for Hamas to hide its leaders and move around fighters.” The Times continues, “And even as the Israel Defense Forces have seized territory and killed Hamas fighters from north to south of the territory, they have repeatedly had to go back in as Hamas fighters regrouped.”
The American officials additionally said that the military operations have failed to achieve the primary goal of returning over 100 Israeli hostages who are still captives of Hamas in the besieged enclave.
Washington is pushing Tel Aviv to negotiate a hostage deal with Hamas to free the captives, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has refused any agreement that would see Israel pause its operations in the Strip.
The Times report notes that the White House has pushed the IDF to use 250-pound bombs in Gaza. The US has shipped Israel thousands of the munitions since October 7, and the bombs have been used in several civilian massacres, including a strike on a school serving as a shelter in Gaza that killed over 100.
