American sources speaking today (Thursday) with Reuters said that Hamas now numbers some 12,000 terrorists, a loss of fully half its strength compared to its pre-war numbers of 20-25,000 terrorists.
Israeli sources told the news agency that as a result of these losses, Hamas has decided to change tactics against the IDF, moving from frontal warfare to "hit and run" and ambush tactics against soldiers in the field.
This change in approach means that fighting will continue in the Gaza Strip until the end of 2024, at least.
Lt.-.Col. Peter Lerner, the IDF Spokesperson for the foreign press, told Reuters that the IDF is still far from eliminating Hamas and that the soldiers are adapting to the terror organization's change in tactics. Lerner added that eliminating every last Hamas terrorist is not a realistic goal, but destroying it as a governing power is.