It has been 2 years since Hamas attacked Israel with 5,000 rockets on October 7, 2023. Israel has been fighting for its survival for decades, but this is the first time such a major attack has taken place in which 1,200 Israeli civilians died, in addition to which Hamas kidnapped more than 250 people. Most of the hostages were Israelis and citizens of some other countries. After the attack, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared Israel at war and launched a military campaign in Gaza to wipe out Hamas.
In the last two years, 67,000 people have died in operations against Hamas and allied organizations. The death toll is likely to rise as the war continues. The Hamas organization and its allies have been devastated by Israel’s actions, but many innocent civilians, especially women and children, have also been victims. The Israeli army has reduced the Gaza Strip to rubble. According to an estimate, 50 million tons of rubble from buildings in Gaza have been destroyed.
Despite criticism of Israel’s brutality and human rights record in the Gaza war, Israel has continued its campaign to eliminate Hamas. The extent to which Israel has succeeded in its ongoing campaign after two years is also important. Israel is very powerful compared to Hamas. Although Israel has achieved great military achievements, it has not succeeded in uprooting Hamas. Israel launched ‘Operation Swords of Iron’ in October 2023 after the Hamas attack.
Initially, Israel carried out heavy bombing with fighter jets in the Gaza Strip. Israel targeted one by one the hideouts of Hamas terrorists. In January 2024, it began controlling the land area by landing troops. Israeli tanks entered Gaza and eliminated top Hamas leaders. In July 2024, Israel assassinated Ismail Haniya, the leader of Hamas’s political wing, in Iran. Hamas fighters are still in no mood to surrender to Israel. They are fighting in a guerrilla warfare style, that is, they attack suddenly from hiding. The US think tank believes that there are 10,000 to 12,000 active Israeli fighters who carry out small-scale attacks on Israeli soldiers in southern Gaza.
Where Hamas once had a commander, small groups now fight in a decentralized manner. Hamas also conducts a recruitment drive to recruit new fighters to fight Israel. According to a January 2025 report by the news agency Reuters, Hamas has recruited 15,000 new members since October 2023. Hamas knows that Israel cannot be defeated in direct combat, so it has gone into hiding and become a martyr in the final battle. The seeds of Hamas’s ideology are still alive in Israel. After an Israeli attack, anger increases among the people of Gaza and a sense of revenge arises. Eventually, they join the Hamas camp.
