Defeating Hamas could take another year, warns retiring IDF Southern Command officer

Officer agrees with DM Gallant: Hamas is defeated as a military, reduced to guerrilla warfare

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The total defeat of Hamas in the Gaza Strip is not imminent, warned the commander of the Southern Command's fire center, Col. Y., as he concluded a two-and-a-half-year stint in the command position.

In a recent summary interview with Army Radio, he discussed his assessment of the Gaza War.

“It will take another year to defeat the military and governmental capabilities of Hamas,” Col. Y. said. However, he does not see this as Israel being just a step removed from victory over the group.

“Will we succeed in getting Hamas on the red line?” he asked, adding: “We are already on our way there.”

Col. Y. also spoke about the state of the Al Qassam Brigades, the military arm of the Hamas terrorist organization.

“It [Al Qassam] suffered a fatal blow in all the brigades, which were damaged to the point of disbandment, and today function as a collection of fighters who carry out guerrilla warfare as the main form of combat.”

Regarding the political institutions, he said he believes “the ruling system is in survival mode.”

According to Y., it is possible to damage Hamas so that it can no longer recover in the Gaza Strip. “It has never been more terminal than it is today.”

The senior officer believes that, within the next year, Hamas will be a “weakened body,” the IDF will have “complete freedom of action in the Strip,” and there will be a “significant reduction of risk to the residents of the Strip” from military operations.

Y. revealed that the Southern Command set an ambitious goal at the beginning of the war – zero rockets from Hamas.

“We are not in this situation yet, but the goal – that there is no more threat, zero – we are on our way there,” he assessed.

Regarding operations to free the hostages, Y. said that planning involves “complexity at a very high level.”

“We have developed knowledge and fighting methods, and we also learn from mistakes – the mistakes which we investigated in the most piercing and professional manner.”

Regarding Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, Col. Y. said: “He is alone. Most of the commanders around him were eliminated. He runs away and hides,” Y. said, but “it's only a matter of time before we reach him.”

At the end of the interview, Y. revealed that he was one of the commanders involved in assessing the situation on the evening of Oct. 7.

He said that he is ending his command position with mixed feelings – a resounding sense of failure for the events of Oct. 7 but great pride in the operational system that was built in the fire center.

The fire center is a unit that coordinates and facilitates the various fire options which are available to a military unit. For example, a commander in the field may call in an airstrikes or artillery fire, which then gets transmitted by the fire center to the various options available to the IDF, like drones, fighter jets or artillery pieces.

He said the fire center did “everything to learn and improve” after the tragedy.

On Monday, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant shared a similar assessment of Hamas’ condition while speaking to foreign journalists.

“Hamas as a military formation no longer exists. Hamas is engaged in guerrilla warfare, and we are still fighting Hamas terrorists and pursuing Hamas leadership,” Gallant said.

He also repeated his contention that the IDF has defeated Hamas enough to be able to withdraw for six weeks if needed, as part of the hostage release deal.

“Israel should achieve an agreement that will bring about a pause for six weeks and bring back hostages,” Gallant stated, saying that after the six weeks, “we maintain the right to operate and achieve our goals – including the destruction of Hamas.”