Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said Wednesday that 60 per cent of Hamas fighters had been “eliminated or wounded” in the Gaza war since the militant group’s October 7 attacks.

In a statement to parliament on the first nine months of the conflict, Gallant said that the military was “determined” to meet its goals of eradicating Hamas and bringing all hostages back from Gaza, AFP reports.

The minister praised Israeli soldiers for “performing their work with dedication, sacrifice and success” and said “the achievements are many”.

“We have eliminated or wounded 60pc of the Hamas terrorists” and “dismantled” most the Palestinian group’s 24 battalions, Gallant said.

The minister did not give figures for the casualties and the Israeli military said it did not immediately have statistics.

The Israeli prime minister’s office said that “14,000 terrorists have been eliminated” since the beginning of the bombardment.

Gallant insisted Israel would stick to its aims.

“We have returned half of the hostages and we are determined to return the rest,” he said.

“The security establishment, and myself heading it, are determined to achieve the goals of the war and complete them. “