Israel's defense minister said "thousands of terrorists" have been killed since the beginning of the newest war in Gaza.
Israel has conducted heavy air and artillery strikes on Gaza since Hamas's deadly surprise attack on Oct. 7 that resulted in the deaths of over 1,400 Israeli civilians and the capture of hundreds more. As Israel begins its ground assault on Gaza, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced that "thousands" of Hamas militants have already been killed.
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“Fierce battles are taking place in Gaza. The IDF is advancing on the road to defeating Hamas. The war is progressing according to the objectives,” Gallant said at a press conference, according to the Times of Israel. “Hamas is suffering severe blows.”
“More than 10,000 munitions were dropped on Gaza City, thousands of targets were hit, thousands of sites were destroyed, thousands of terrorists were eliminated,” he added.
The statement is one of Israel's first public assessments of enemy casualties during the war.
If true, the figure shows that the Israel Defense Forces has dealt a significant blow to Hamas's fighting capabilities. The Izz ad-Din al Qassam Brigades, Hamas's armed wing, is estimated to have around 30,000-40,000 fighters, according to Axios. Many of the most elite of these were likely expended in the Oct. 7 surprise attack, significantly reducing their fighting capabilities.
Gallant continued to say that a ground offensive into Gaza was made inevitable by the Oct. 7 terrorist attack and that Israel will continue until Hamas is completely defeated.
“The ground offensive began when the time was ripe. … This is a war of no choice," he declared. "We must win the war, whatever the price, however long it takes. Even if this does not find favor with some other countries, we will continue until we defeat Hamas.”
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The issue of casualty counts has become a source of great controversy during the war. Gaza's Health Ministry, which is overseen by Hamas, claims that 8,805 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza and 21,543 have been injured. Israeli and U.S. officials have questioned the figures, alleging that the Health Ministry cannot be trusted due to Hamas oversight, and claim the figures don't distinguish between civilians and Hamas fighters.
Roughly 1,400 Israeli civilians have been killed in the fighting, mostly on the first day, along with 16 IDF soldiers.