(JNS) Israeli forces have killed half of Hamas’s military leadership in Gaza and killed or arrested around 14,000 of its fighters since the start of the war over nine months ago, the IDF said on Tuesday, July 16.

“The IDF continues the important task of pursuing the top leaders of the Hamas terrorist organization as part of the goal of dismantling the organization’s capabilities,” the military said.

On July 13, an Israeli airstrike in the Al-Mawasi area west of Khan Younis targeted the Hamas second-in-command in Gaza, leader of the Qassam Brigades Mohammed Deif. His death has not been confirmed, but the IDF did confirm that Deif’s deputy, Rafa’a Salameh, the commander of Hamas’s Khan Younis Brigade, was killed.