After more than 3 months of fighting, even small victories for Israel are elusive  

The apocalyptic landscape of northern Gaza speaks to the deadly effectiveness of Israel's bombing campaign at destroying buildings and making the territory unlivable for Palestinians.

Far harder to discern is whether all of that immense destruction and loss of life — more than 24,000 Palestinians killed and counting — has actually helped Israel achieve its war goals or brought the country closer to its strategic aim of defeating Hamas.

As the combat continues without any sign of an ending, analysts who spoke to CBC News say even modest victories have been elusive.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has identified three goals for Israel's military operation in Gaza.

"The elimination of Hamas, the return of all our hostages and the guarantee that Gaza will never again pose a threat to Israel," he said most recently in a news conference on Saturday.

The first goal — the "elimination of Hamas" — began with a declaration of war the day after the militant group's Oct. 7 attack on Israel that killed approximately 1,200 people.

Twenty days later, following an intensive air bombardment, three Israeli divisions drawing on more than 300,000 reservists crossed into Gaza, attempting to take control of Gaza City in the north and cut the territory in half.  A fourth division later joined the fight.

Israel's Defence Forces claim since then they have killed more than 9,000 Hamas operatives and fighters, a figure which includes roughly 1,800 militants who crossed into Israel as part of the Oct. 7 attacks.

As of Friday, the IDF says 194 Israeli soldiers have been killed since the beginning of the ground invasion.

The health ministry in Gaza estimates 24,762 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli attacks and invasion since Oct. 7, though deteriorating conditions have made it difficult to track as the war has progressed.

In a news conference Thursday, Netanyahu lauded his country's military successes, claiming Hamas's fighting strength had been reduced by up to two-thirds and reinforcing that the plan was to press on with the war until winning a "complete victory."

The precise strength of Hamas's forces prior to the Oct. 7 attacks is not known but some estimates suggest the group's military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, had roughly 30,000 fighters at its disposal.

While the Israeli figures suggest Hamas's fighting ability has been significantly downgraded by the war, the group's command structure remains largely intact, as does its ability to resist Israeli forces.

"Hamas has suffered losses, but it remains an effective military power," said Nur Arafeh, a fellow at the Carnegie Middle East Centre.