Special to WorldTribune.com

TEL AVIV — Israel’s military has cited major achievements in the war in the Gaza Strip but has not declared victory.

The military said it destroyed about one-third of the Palestinian
missile and rocket arsenal in the Gaza Strip.

The military also said it “neutralized” 32 tunnels and targeted between 750 and 1,000 Palestinian fighters during the 26-day campaign. In all, the military reported striking 4,762 targets, nearly one-third of them rocket launchers, across the Gaza
Strip.

“The reality in the area adjacent to the Gaza Strip vis-a-vis the attack
tunnels is completely different than that which prevailed before the start
of Operation Protective Edge,” Maj. Gen. Sami Turgeman, chief of the Army’s
Southern Command, said. “Hamas has lost a strategic capability that it took
years to build and which was destroyed within weeks.”

The military, which lost 64 soldiers, did not cite any evidence for the
data. During the war, the military had claimed the
destruction of Hamas’ tunnel network as well as 70 percent of the
Palestinian rocket arsenal.

In a statement on Aug. 5, the military said 14 of the tunnels penetrated
Israel. Two of the tunnels were said to have contained shafts that extended
up to 500 meters into the Jewish state.

The military, ordered to maintain a three-day ceasefire, said the
Palestinians fired 3,356 rockets, 2,303 of which struck Israel. The
statement said 578 were intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome missile and rocket
defense system and 475 others fell within the Gaza Strip. Nearly 70 percent
of the rockets were said to have been fired from the northern Gaza Strip.

“In addition, 159 suspected terrorists have been questioned by Israeli
security forces, 25 of which are currently imprisoned,” the military said.

Members of the Cabinet of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have been
careful not to declare victory over Hamas. They said Israel expected to face
Hamas and its allies over the next few months.

“I don’t think we need to speak in terms of victory,” Science Minister
Yaakov Peri said. “We have to say we’ve achieved our objectives.”

  303 of 3, 356 rockets hit Israel, 578 intercepted, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel Cites Gaza War stats: 2, Maj. Gen. Sami Turgeman, Operation Protective Edge, Yaakov Peri