A senior official in the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, told TNA that despite Israel’s military capabilities, resistance fighters employed guerrilla tactics were highly effective in urban warfare. [Getty]
Sources within the various Palestinian resistance factions assert that the Israeli army’s losses in Gaza far exceed the officially Israeli reported figures.
Separately speaking to The New Arab, officials from the Palestinian resistance said that their fighters had inflicted heavy casualties on Israeli forces, particularly during ground confrontations inside the war-torn coastal enclave.
In several statements over the course of Israel’s genocidal war, Hamas officials have publicly argued that the Israeli military is deliberately downplaying the casualty numbers and that armed resistance operations in northern Gaza alone resulted in hundreds of Israeli soldier deaths.
For his part, Deputy Secretary-General of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Mohammed al-Hindi, described Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as being in a state of “delusion” and asserted that any future negotiations must ensure a complete cessation of hostilities.
Similarly, Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal reaffirmed that the movement remains capable of sustaining its military campaign despite the prolonged war. “Hamas will rise from the ashes as it always has,” he declared, insisting that the armed resistance still possesses the means to inflict heavy blows on Israeli forces.
In contrast, Netanyahu has repeatedly claimed that Israel’s military actions have significantly weakened Hamas and Islamic Jihad, setting them back years in their development and suffered far greater losses than they admit.
However, independent analysts suggest that Israel’s reliance on aerial bombardment rather than decisive ground victories indicates that its military faced far stiffer resistance than expected.
Growing scrutiny
Official Israeli statistics claim that since the beginning of the ground offensive in Gaza, 401 Israeli soldiers have been killed, bringing the total military casualties to 831 and more than 5,590 soldiers have been wounded, with 2,535 of these injuries occurring since the ground invasion on Gaza began.
According to Maariv, an Israeli newspaper, the total number of Israeli military deaths since 7 October 2023, stands at 891, including 390 in Gaza, 50 in Lebanon, 11 in the occupied West Bank, 37 in northern Israel and 65 in operational incidents.
Additionally, reports indicate a sharp increase in soldier suicides. In 2023, 27 Israeli soldiers took their own lives, and another 21 suicides have been recorded since the start of 2024.
In December 2023, Haartez said there was a large disparity between the number of wounded soldiers reported by the Israeli army compared with hospital records.
It added that the Israeli army had announced from October to December that 1,593 soldiers were wounded, but Israeli health ministry data showed the actual number was a staggering 10,548.
“Even accounting for various notation and reporting gaps, which may occur in the hospital field, the discrepancy is large between the army’s figures and those of the hospitals,” the report noted.
Moreover, in October 2024, Haaretz reported that around 1,000 wounded soldiers were admitted to rehabilitation centres each month, along with new injury claims associated with past incidents.
Other sources in Israeli media time also suggested that the actual number of Israeli military casualties could be higher than reported as authorities attempt to control public perception and maintain morale within the ranks.
For their part, families of Israeli soldiers have also increasingly voiced concerns over inadequate transparency regarding battlefield conditions.
Resistance tactics and impact on the battlefield
A senior official in the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, told TNA that despite Israel’s military capabilities, resistance fighters employed guerrilla tactics were highly effective in urban warfare and caused significant damage to Israel.
A resistance fighter, speaking anonymously to TNA, said, “Every day, our fighters execute numerous attacks, from ambushing military convoys to sniping enemy soldiers. These operations are meticulously documented.”
“The use of underground tunnels, improvised explosive devices, and anti-tank missiles has made it difficult for Israeli forces to secure stable footholds within Gaza. The resistance has also relied on decentralised command structures, ensuring operational continuity even in the face of intense Israeli bombardment,” he added.
Another fighter from the Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement, echoed this sentiment.
He told TNA that the Israeli army’s inability to engage in direct combat led it to escalate attacks on civilians as a form of pressure.
“If the enemy indeed faced us head-on, they would not leave Gaza alive. Many Israeli soldiers have been forced into defensive positions, reluctant to advance further into resistance strongholds due to fears of ambushes,” he remarked.
Hamas and Islamic Jihad do not solely dominate the battlefield. Fighters from various factions, including Fatah and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), also joined the fight.
A Fatah fighter noted to TNA, “Political differences disappear in war. Our mission is clear: to defend our people and resist the occupation.”
He said significant coordination among factions, highlighting joint operations against Israeli forces that led to more sophisticated and coordinated attacks, including multipronged ambushes and the combined use of drones for reconnaissance and offence.
These advancements in tactical operations have contributed to the increase in Israeli military casualties, according to the Fatah fighter.
Professor Saeed Shaheen, a Palestinian political analyst, opined to TNA that “the escalating losses pressured Israel into showing flexibility in negotiations.”
“The rising human cost is forcing Israel to reconsider its stance,” he said, adding that US diplomatic efforts have also played a role in reaching a ceasefire. “The Palestinian strength in the battle pushed Israel to accept the ceasefire, despite that it refused it for several times.”
