How Many Hamas Fighters Does Israel Say It Has Killed?
The IDF stated on 29 February 2024 it had eliminated over 13,000 people it calls terrorists in Gaza; later counts cover separate periods.
The IDF stated on 29 February 2024 that it had eliminated over 13,000 people it describes as terrorists in Gaza since the war began, its own count and the last whole-war figure in the IDF publications read for this record. Later IDF publications count separate periods and operations instead: about 14,000 killed or arrested in the first 9 months of the ground manoeuvre, about 2,000 from 18 March to 20 August 2025, and about 2,750 in the operation the IDF calls Gideon’s Chariots B. The windows differ, one count includes arrests, and none of them may be added to another.
| Figure | What it counts | Who published it | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Over 13,000 | People the IDF describes as terrorists that it says it eliminated in Gaza, its own count | Israel Defense Forces Spokesperson | Start of the war to 29 February 2024 |
| About 14,000 | People the IDF describes as terrorists that it says its forces killed and arrested, the two not separated | Israel Defense Forces | First 9 months of the ground manoeuvre, stated 16 July 2024 |
| About 2,000 | Eliminated since operations resumed, in the English release; the Hebrew release of the same date says more than 2,100 | Israel Defense Forces | 18 March to 20 August 2025 |
| About 2,750 | Eliminated in Gaza City during Gideon’s Chariots B; the page gives the operation no dates | Israel Defense Forces | Stated 27 October 2025 |
| More than 100 | Targeted eliminations in the first month after operations resumed, beside “hundreds” neutralized | Israel Defense Forces | 18 March to 16 April 2025 |
The IDF counted over 13,000 eliminated to 29 February 2024
The IDF Spokesperson stated at a briefing on 29 February 2024, the 146th day of the war, that the IDF had eliminated over 13,000 people it describes as terrorists in Gaza since the war began. The count is the IDF’s own, published by a party to the war, and the classification of those counted as terrorists is the IDF’s own. “Over 13,000” is a floor.
The count is not limited to Hamas. Like every IDF figure on this page, it counts people the IDF calls terrorists, without naming the organisation each belonged to.
About 14,000 were killed or arrested in 9 months, the IDF stated
The IDF stated on 16 July 2024, day 263 of the fighting in Gaza, that “הכוחות חיסלו ועצרו כ-14,000 מחבלים”: its forces killed and arrested about 14,000 people it calls terrorists. The IDF’s own count joins the killed and the arrested in one figure and does not separate them, and its headline gives the same figure as “נפגעו”, hit.
The same IDF page lists, among those eliminated, its own count by rank:
| Level | Eliminated, on the IDF’s count |
|---|---|
| Brigade commander | 6 |
| Battalion commander | Over 20 |
| Company commander | About 150 |
Source: Israel Defense Forces, 9 months of the ground manoeuvre, 16 July 2024.
The page’s headline states that half the leadership of Hamas’s military wing had been eliminated. It also records about 37,000 targets struck from the air, which is a count of targets, not of people.
The Prison Service held 1,477 Gaza residents on security grounds in December 2025
The Israel Prison Service counts separately the people from Gaza it holds, its own count of its own facilities at each month’s end. It is a count of people held on a date, not of arrests, and it is not a breakdown of the IDF’s 14,000.
| Month end | Gaza residents held on security grounds | Of them, held as unlawful combatants |
|---|---|---|
| October 2025 | 1,415 | 1,130 |
| November 2025 | 1,458 | 1,167 |
| December 2025 | 1,477 | 1,189 |
Source: Israel Prison Service, inmates report, fourth quarter 2025, published 17 March 2026. Prison Service facilities only.
The IDF counts each period after March 2025 separately
The IDF published three counts after operations in Gaza resumed on 18 March 2025, each its own count for its own window:
| Window | The IDF’s count | Published |
|---|---|---|
| 18 March to 16 April 2025 | More than 100 targeted eliminations; “hundreds of terrorists and military commanders” neutralized | 16 April 2025 |
| 18 March to 20 August 2025 | About 2,000 eliminated (English); more than 2,100 (Hebrew) | 20 August 2025 |
| Gideon’s Chariots B, in Gaza City | About 2,750 eliminated | 27 October 2025 |
Source: Israel Defense Forces, releases of 16 April 2025, 20 August 2025 and 27 October 2025.
The April 2025 window sits inside the August 2025 window, so the first two rows overlap. The IDF gives Gideon’s Chariots B no dates on the page that counts it, so where it falls against the August window cannot be read from the record.
The IDF’s English and Hebrew releases of 20 August 2025 give 2 figures
The IDF’s English release of 20 August 2025 is headed “Senior Officials and About 2,000 Terrorists were Eliminated”. Its Hebrew release of the same date, covering the same five months from 18 March 2025, is headed “חיסול יותר מ-2,100 מחבלים”, more than 2,100 eliminated. Both are the IDF’s own count; neither version corrects the other.
The IDF’s 5 counts overlap and may not be added
Adding the IDF’s figures, each its own count, produces a number the IDF never published. The reasons are in the records themselves:
- The 13,000 window, from the start of the war, and the 14,000 window, from the start of the ground manoeuvre, overlap
- The 14,000 includes people arrested, and the other figures count people eliminated
- The April and August 2025 windows overlap
- No IDF count read here covers 16 July 2024 to 18 March 2025
- The Gideon’s Chariots B count carries no dates
No IDF page read here gives a whole-war total after February 2024
The IDF’s retrospective of 27 October 2025, marking 752 days of war, counts operations and gives no cumulative figure for Gaza. Absent from the IDF publications read here:
- A whole-war count of people the IDF says it eliminated in Gaza, after 29 February 2024
- A count of those killed separated from those arrested, for the 14,000
- A breakdown of any count by organisation
Where these figures come from
Every IDF figure here is the IDF’s own count of its own operations, published by a party to the war, and each counts people the IDF describes as terrorists, its own classification. The Prison Service figures are its own count of people held on a date. “Over”, “about” and “more than” are the IDF’s own words and each figure is a floor or an approximation. The 14,000 joins killed and arrested. The windows overlap or are undated, so no two figures may be summed, and a later figure is not an update of an earlier one.
Questions readers ask
How many Hamas fighters does Israel say it has killed?
The IDF stated on 29 February 2024 that it had eliminated over 13,000 people it describes as terrorists in Gaza since the war began, its own count.
Is there a newer total from the IDF?
No IDF page read here gives a whole-war total after February 2024; later IDF releases count separate periods and operations.
Does the IDF’s count include only Hamas?
No IDF figure read here is limited to Hamas; each counts people the IDF calls terrorists, without naming their organisation.
What does the IDF’s 14,000 figure count?
The IDF stated on 16 July 2024 that its forces killed and arrested about 14,000, in one figure for both.
How many senior commanders does the IDF say it killed by July 2024?
The IDF’s count of 16 July 2024 lists 6 at brigade-commander level, over 20 at battalion-commander level and about 150 at company-commander level.
How many does the IDF say it killed after the March 2025 resumption?
The IDF stated about 2,000 in English and more than 2,100 in Hebrew, for 18 March to 20 August 2025.
Why do the English and Hebrew figures differ?
The IDF published both on 20 August 2025 and explains neither; both are its own count.
How many does the IDF say it killed in Gaza City in 2025?
The IDF stated on 27 October 2025 that its forces eliminated about 2,750 in Gideon’s Chariots B, in Gaza City.
Can the IDF’s figures be added into a total?
No; the windows overlap or are undated, and one figure includes arrests.
Does the IDF say how it classifies someone as a terrorist?
The IDF publications read here apply the term without setting out the classification behind each count.
How many people from Gaza does Israel hold?
The Israel Prison Service counted 1,477 Gaza residents held on security grounds at the end of December 2025, 1,189 of them as unlawful combatants, in its facilities only.
Whose count are these figures?
Each is the IDF’s own count of its own operations, published by a party to the war.
Sources
- Israel Defense Forces, 2024. 9 months of the ground manoeuvre: half of Hamas’s military-wing leadership eliminated and about 14,000 terrorists hit. Dated 16 July 2024. idf.il. Official or primary record, a party’s own count.
- Israel Defense Forces, 2024. Press Briefing by IDF Spokesperson, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, February 29th, 2024. idf.il. Official or primary record, a party’s own count.
- Israel Defense Forces, 2025. April 16, 2025: Summary of the Renewed Operations in the Gaza Strip, Major Achievements of the IDF and ISA. idf.il. Official or primary record, a party’s own count.
- Israel Defense Forces, 2025. Since the renewal of ground operations in the Southern Command (March 18, 2025): the key achievements of the IDF and the ISA. English and Hebrew releases, 20 August 2025. idf.il. Official or primary record, a party’s own count.
- Israel Defense Forces, 2025. Back to the operations, events and eliminations of 752 days of war. Dated 27 October 2025. idf.il. Official or primary record, a party’s own published account.
- Israel Prison Service, 2026. Inmates report, fourth quarter 2025, sheet 6, residency by prisoner type. Published 17 March 2026. gov.il. Official or primary record, the Service’s own count of its own facilities.
