In 10 months of fighting in Gaza, Israel’s military has considerably weakened Hamas, but continued bombings are now yielding diminishing returns and exacerbating civilian suffering, according to senior US officials quoted by The New York Times, Al Jazeera reports.

“Hamas is largely depleted but not wiped out, and the Israelis may never achieve the total annihilation of Hamas,” Ralph Goff, an ex-CIA official who worked in the Middle East, told the US newspaper.

Joseph L Votel, who previously headed the army’s US Central Command, said while Israel has been able to “disrupt” Hamas and take out many of its leaders, only negotiations could bring about the release of Israeli captives still in the enclave.