Tel Aviv: Nine months into the ground operation in Gaza, half of Hamas's military leadership has been eliminated, along with approximately 14,000 terrorists killed or apprehended, the Israel Defence Forces said in figures released on Tuesday.

Among the senior figures whose deaths have been confirmed are six brigade commanders, over 20 battalion commanders, and approximately 150 company commanders, leaving the remaining Hamas leadership fragmented and beset with internal discord.

With the majority of Hamas's military council killed in airstrikes, the terror group has begun appointing new leaders and making succession plans to replace other figures viewed as at risk.

The army is reportedly highly confident that Mohammed Deif, the overall commander of Hamas forces was killed in an airstrike on Saturday. He would be the highest-ranking Hamas figure killed, and if his death is confirmed, Mohammed Sinwar, brother of Yahya Sinwar, is poised to replace Deif.

Furthermore, Arab sources report that Ruhi Mushtaha, a close associate of Yahya Sinwar from their time in Israeli prison, is likely to succeed Sinwar as Hamas's Gaza strongman.

Among the senior Hamas leaders eliminated so far include Marwan Issa (Hamas's No. 3 man) and Salah Arouri (key strategist who directed terror operations in Judea and Samaria), Ahmed Ehandor (commander of the Northern Division), Iman Nofal (commander of Central Gaza Brigade) among others, and most recently, Rafa'a Salameh (commander of the Khan Yunis Brigade). The fate of Raed Saad (head of the operations division in Gaza) remains unknown after he was targeted in an airstrike in June.

The army said it has also struck around 37,000 targets from the air, including more than 25,000 terror infrastructure sites, such as tunnel shafts, command centers, weapons caches, rocket launching positions, sniper and observation posts, communication facilities and hideouts.

"Additionally, the IDF focuses its efforts on locating terrorists who embed themselves and establish bases in sensitive sites across the Gaza Strip, including in hospitals, schools, and humanitarian shelters. These areas are cynically exploited by terrorists who attempt to use them as hiding places and bases for terrorism," the army noted. "Strikes against this infrastructure are conducted in accordance with international law, with the purpose of preventing the restoration of terrorist organizations' capabilities."

Twice this week, airstrikes targeted terror squads holed up in UN schools in the central Gaza area of Nuseirat on Sunday and again on Tuesday.

Those strikes were based on precise intelligence, and measures were taken to mitigate civilian collateral damage.

At least 1,200 people were killed, and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in Hamas's attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7. Of the 116 remaining hostages, more than 30 are believed dead.

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