A prominent Israeli military analyst confirmed on Monday that it is currently too early to talk about the collapse of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) in the Gaza Strip.

Amos Harel said in an article published in the newspaper "Haaretz" that there is a major escalation in Gaza currently, as Israeli forces are focusing on targeting the Jabalia refugee camp, the Zaytoun neighborhood, and several neighborhoods close to Gaza City.

He added, "During the first three weeks of ground operations, the Israeli army did not advance into these neighborhoods north and east of the city."

He pointed out that Israeli military units "operate in a dense and very dangerous urban area," which increases the possibility of mistaken fire between them as a result of the intense, widespread fire.

Harel explained that there are incidents related to fatigue after weeks of activity, and an increasing phenomenon of failure to adhere to combat discipline.

The Israeli army was reported to have killed a large number of Palestinian militants and targeted new targets, sometimes in areas that had been occupied earlier during the operations.

Israeli army strategy

The analyst explained that the army's strategy is to slowly deploy large forces to ensure their safety, rather than quickly entering areas to clear them of resistance using air and artillery strikes.

Besides, a long array of secondary forces and logistics units are currently deployed inside the Gaza Strip, which poses a major challenge in maintaining the level of combat discipline on the front.

The analyst added that the Israeli army is currently operating on the ground in the last major areas in the northern Gaza Strip. He added, "However, it is too early to talk about the collapse of Hamas," whose capabilities in the south are still intact, and that its leadership is still present and hiding there as well.

Harel added, "There are still military objectives to be dealt with in the northern Gaza Strip, but Israeli political and military leaders will have to decide whether there are too many potential gains to justify the effort and risks to soldiers' lives."

This report comes in light of the ground incursion by Israeli forces into the Gaza Strip, in response to the “Al-Aqsa Flood” operation launched by the resistance on the 7th of last October.

Source: Anadolu Agency