In Gaza, the Israeli army has already reached the end point, US officials say

Jerusalem.- Israel has already accomplished all it can do militarily in Gaza, according to senior US officials, who say the continued bombing is only increasing the risk to civilians as the chance of further weakening Hamas has diminished.

As the Biden administration rushes to get cease-fire negotiations back on track, a growing number of national security officials across the government said the Israeli military has managed to severely dismantle Hamas but will never be able to completely eliminate the group.

In many ways, Israel’s military operation has done more damage to Hamas than American officials had predicted when the war began in October.

Israeli forces can now move freely around Gaza, officials said, and Hamas is bloodied and damaged.

Israel has destroyed or captured crucial supply routes from Egypt to Gaza.

Some 14,000 Gaza fighters have been killed or captured, the Israeli military said last month.

Although U.S. intelligence agencies use more conservative methodologies to estimate Hamas death tolls, precise numbers remain classified.

The Israeli military has also claimed to have eliminated half of the leadership of the Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s military division, including top leaders Muhammad Deif and Marwan Issa.

Although one of Israel’s most important goals — the return of some 115 hostages, dead or alive, still held in Gaza after being kidnapped during Hamas attacks on Oct. 7 — cannot be achieved militarily, according to current and former U.S. and Israeli officials.

“Over the past 10 months, Israel has been able to dismantle Hamas, kill a number of its leaders and greatly reduce the threat to Israel that existed before October 7,” said Gen. Joseph L. Votel, former head of U.S. Central Command.

“Hamas is now a diminished organisation but the release of hostages can only be achieved through negotiations.”

However, Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, spokesman for the IDF, said in a telephone interview that “The IDF and its commanders are determined to achieve the war objectives of dismantling Hamas and bringing home our hostages and we will continue to operate with determination to achieve this.”