Israeli soldiers inspect the entrance to what they say is a tunnel used by Hamas terrorists during a ground operation in a location given as Gaza, in this handout image released Nov. 9, 2023. Photo: Israel Defense Forces/Handout via REUTERS

The Israeli military has killed 17,000 terrorists in Gaza since the beginning of the war against Hamas on Oct. 7, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

“IDF forces continue to fight in Gaza — in Rafah, Khan Yunis, the central Strip, and are attacking everywhere,” IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari told reporters during a briefing on Thursday night. “So far, we have eliminated more than 17,000 terrorists.”

Hamas, the Palestinian terrorist group that rules Gaza, launched the war with its invasion of southern Israel on Oct. 7. During the onslaught, Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists murdered 1,200 people and kidnapped some 250 hostages while committing mass atrocities, including widespread sexual violence.

Israel repelled the surprise invasion and responded with weeks of airstrikes before launching a ground offensive in neighboring Gaza on Oct. 27. According to Israeli leaders, the main goals of the ongoing military campaign in the enclave are to free the hostages and dismantle Hamas’ military and governing capabilities.

Hamas leaders have vowed to carry out attacks on Israel similar to the Oct. 7 massacre “again and again.”

“The significant combat and the ensuing high accomplishments impede Hamas’ ability to raise its head again and rebuild itself, and we are determined to keep this up,” Hagari told reporters.

Hamas and Israeli officials have both said that Hamas has about 35,000 armed fighters in Gaza, although other terrorist groups in the enclave, primarily Palestinian Islamic Jihad, have also been fighting the IDF.

In May, Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, disclosed that the IDF had at that time eliminated 14,000 terrorists. Government spokesman Avi Hyman also revealed that Israeli forces had killed “sadly around 16,000 civilians” in Gaza.

“We would expect everyone to now take these figures as a genuine estimate from a free democratic country that fights in strict accordance with the laws of armed conflict in one of the most challenging urban warfare scenarios in history,” Hyman told Fox News. “Let me make it clear: Every civilian casualty is a tragedy. That would not have happened if Hamas hadn’t insisted on using their own people as human shields.”

Israel says it has gone to unprecedented lengths to try and avoid civilian casualties, noting its efforts to evacuate areas before it targets them and to warn residents of impending military operations with leaflets, text messages, and other forms of communication. However, Hamas has in many cases prevented people from leaving, according to the IDF.

Another challenge for Israel is Hamas’ widely recognized military strategy of embedding its terrorists within Gaza’s civilian population and commandeering civilian facilities like hospitals, schools, and mosques to run operations and direct attacks.

“Israel is setting the new gold standard for urban warfare with what appears to be the lowest civilian-to-combatant casualty ratio in history,” Hyman said in May.

Hamas-controlled health authorities in Gaza say about 40,000 Palestinians have died during Israel’s campaign. Experts have cast doubt on the reliability of casualty figures coming out of Gaza, in part because they do not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

Beyond rank-and-file terrorists, Israel has also killed several of Hamas’ leaders during the war. Last month, the IDF said it had eliminated half of Hamas’ military leadership in Gaza.

However, the terrorist group’s top leader and the mastermind of the Oct. 7 massacre, Yahya Sinwar, is still alive. Israeli Brig. Gen. Dan Goldfus told Channel 12 news in an interview broadcast on Sunday that the IDF was “minutes away” from capturing Sinwar in a tunnel underneath Gaza.

Israel has said that Sinwar is “marked for death” as the architect of the Oct. 7 attack, which was orchestrated along with Hamas military wing commander Muhammad Deif, who was killed by the IDF last month.

Hamas’ top leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in an explosion in Iran two weeks ago. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied being behind the killing. Sinwar, who had been Hamas’ chief in Gaza, was picked to succeed Haniyeh as the terrorist group’s overall leader.

In June, Netanyahu said that the intense combat in Gaza was winding down and that the IDF would deploy more troops to Israel’s border with Lebanon, where the terrorist group Hezbollah has been attacking northern Israel almost daily since October.

Hamas and Hezbollah are both backed by Iran, which provides the Islamist terrorist group with weapons, funding, and training.