A retired Israeli major general, Glora Eiland, has commended the resilience of the Palestinian resistance, acknowledging their ability to replace killed commanders with equally capable individuals. Eiland, in an article for the New York Times, emphasized the lack of signs indicating a collapse of Hamas' military and political power in Gaza.

Former senior Israeli intelligence officer Michael Milshtein criticized official statements suggesting Hamas was at a breaking point, cautioning that such assertions might create inaccurate expectations about the duration of the campaign in the Gaza Strip. US military analysts cited by the New York Times noted the challenging nature of Israel's goal to weaken Hamas's military capabilities.

General Charles Q. Brown of the United States had previously stated in November that eliminating Hamas would be a formidable task. On December 26, former Israeli military chief Dan Halutz conceded that the regime had lost the battle with the Palestinian resistance in Gaza. Halutz outlined that the only victory, in his view, would be the resignation of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, expressing concern about the overall future of the Israeli entity.