Hamas remains resilient and capable of reconstituting its military capabilities despite the military losses it has suffered so far in the war against Israel, two military monitors said.

As a result, Israeli officials say they need to fight a “prolonged” war to achieve their objective of destroying the Palestinian fighter group, US-based think tank the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) and the Critical Threats Project (CTP) said in their latest report.

“Hamas having a role in the future of the strip is incompatible with Israel’s stated war objectives of destroying Hamas, demilitarizing Gaza, and deradicalizing ‘Palestinian society,’” the monitors said.

“Palestinian militias continued to try to defend against Israeli clearing operations in Khan Younis. Palestinian militias used mortars, small arms fire, and anti-tank rockets to defend against the Israeli advances.”