TEL AVIV (Dispatches) -- 
Israeli media reports have cast doubt over the number of resistance fighters in the Gaza Strip, pointing to their “substantial comeback” 15 months into the bloody war on the Palestinian territory.
Zionist media outlets, including The Jerusalem Post, estimated that there are between 20,000 and 23,000 resistance fighters across Gaza, including those of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad, along with local fighters.
“Hamas is making a substantial comeback by recruiting new forces,” The Post reported. 
The newly reported figures challenge the Israeli claims of nearing total victory over Hamas. At the beginning of its brutal Gaza onslaught, the Zionist military vowed to eliminate Hamas and its 25,000 fighters.
Recently, the occupation’s military claimed that it had killed 17,000-20,000 Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters over the course of the war on the besieged territory.
A comparison between the Israeli military’s figures and those by the regime’s media shows that Hamas has recruited almost an entirely new force, fully replacing its old force.
Another possibility is that preliminary Israeli estimates were inaccurate and that Hamas had 30,000 or even up to 40,000 members before the start of the bloody Israeli aggression.
On Thursday, the Israeli army reported a sharp rise in suicides among soldiers since the regime launched a campaign of death and destruction against the besieged Gaza Strip.
In a statement, the military said that at least 28 Zionist soldiers had committed suicide since October 2023.
“The figure is higher than 2023 when

 17 soldiers were killed in ‘suspected suicides’ including seven after the outbreak of war,” it added.
Another 10 suspected suicides took place in 2023 before the October onslaught.
The suicide numbers represent a sharp uptick from previous years. In 2022, the Israeli military recorded 14 suspected suicides, and in 2021 the number was 11.
Overall, the number of deaths in the military in 2023-2024 was the highest in decades due to war.
According to figures released by the army, at least 891 Israeli soldiers have been killed and 5,569 others wounded since the outbreak of the war on Gaza.
The army said 363 soldiers were killed in 2024, down from 558 in 2023. In 2022, 44 Israeli soldiers were killed.
The army said suicides have become the second-leading cause of death within the Israeli military, trailing behind operational duty, but surpassing illnesses and accidents.
Palestinian resistance groups say that the fatalities are much higher as the Zionist regime maintains strict censorship and does not release the real figures of its military casualties amid fear of public discontent over the war.
Palestinians in recent months have stepped up their resistance operations in the face of intensified Israeli aggression in northern Gaza and elsewhere across the besieged region. 
In addition, the figures underscore the heavy toll the war has taken on the physical and mental well-being of military personnel.
The Israeli regime said it was working to prevent suicides in the military, including by opening a 24/7 helpline, which has received over 3,900 calls since it was established in October 2023.
 The military has also called up over 800 reservist mental health officers amid the war to help soldiers.
The developments come as the regime’s military is reported to be facing a critical manpower problem as it runs short of thousands of forces.
The military also said thousands of reservist soldiers had apparently stopped serving in combat roles due to mental stress.  
The high number of reservist suicides was also thought to be tied to the military’s call-up of nearly 300,000 reservists during the war.
In October, over 130 Israeli soldiers, including reservists and conscripts from various military branches, signed an open letter calling for an end to the war and stating they refused to serve unless the government worked on a ceasefire and captive release deal.