IDF Reveals Hamas Letter Admitting Widespread Force Destruction as Israelis, Americans Remember 9/11

JERUSALEM, Israel – New intelligence has emerged revealing how much the Israel Defense Forces have damaged Hamas' military capabilities. The information comes as both Israelis and Americans remembered the horrors of 9/11.

Speaking from an IDF intelligence base, Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant shared a document from a top Hamas commander. It reveals the severity of the losses the IDF has inflicted on Hamas.

That commander, Rafa'a Salameh, wrote in May, before he was killed in July, "We have lost at least 50 percent of our fighters." As for weapons, he wrote, "We have lost 90 to 95 percent of our rocket capabilities and we have lost some 60 percent of our personal weapons."

Gallant indicated the net result is that "Hamas as a military formation no longer exists."

The defense minister also spoke of a particularly disturbing photo the IDF found in Gaza.

Speaking on X, he said, "I would like to show you what we found recently in tunnels in Khan Younis. That's a picture – these are the kids of Muhammad Sinwar (brother of the Hamas leader), posing against the evil event of September 11th. "This picture shows what we have been fighting since October 7th: ISIS, Al Qaeda, Hamas – they're all the same."

The Israeli military is increasingly hunting down Hamas terrorists one by one.

The IDF says it's killed some 17,000 Hamas fighters. Civilians, though, still get hurt as Hamas members try to hide among them. But Israel tracks those terrorists down and attacks, such as in a recent airstrike in the Gazan city of Khan Younis.

Meanwhile, with Hamas so beaten down in Gaza, media reports suggest it's ready to accept an immediate ceasefire, but only if there are no new conditions from any side.

At Israel's 9/11 Memorial near Jerusalem Wednesday, Israelis and Americans came together to remember the fateful day 23 years ago.

It's the only memorial outside the U.S. with all the names of the nearly 3,000 who died in the attacks.

For Jill, one of the attendees, it has intense meaning.

She told CBN News, “It's particularly emotional after what Israel experienced, the world experienced on October 7th.”

Pointing to a young woman standing next to her, Jill shared, “On September 11th, 2001, I was three months pregnant, with this baby right here.”

On September 11th, Jill's husband never came home.

She recalled, “My husband went to work in the World Trade Center, and a few minutes after he got there, there's a fire on his floor. He didn't know what happened. And, you know, as we know what – how it unfolded. And as a result, the tower collapsed and we never heard again.”

Her daughter Jamie, who never met her dad, now serves in the IDF.

She told us, “It’s also very special to see the connection between Israel and America. It's hard being here, especially with everything going on. And it really hits home, especially with losing my dad on 9/11.

Jamie continued, "Same idea of hate and terrorism. But to be here and to try to do something to help the situation and to promote peace and to understand what's happening, it helps me.”

Jewish commentator Hillel Fuld sees a profound connection between 9/11 and October 7th, and the bond between Israel and America.

“Unfortunately, that bond has only become stronger over the past 11 months when we experienced our own 9/11, Fuld noted.“You feel like this day is so special. Maybe we should just not make that comparison. But you can't not make that comparison – primarily because it's the same people who perpetrated it.  And it's the global plague of radical Islam.”

Fuld insists the threat is worldwide. 

“The global community has to wake up and understand that it's the same people who did what they did back then or the same people who did October 7th here in Israel," he said.

Israeli businessman and activist David Yaari told CBN News, “The forces of good have to put an end to terror. It's enough. How many more of these ceremonies evening to go? We have 365 days a year now. Two of them are marked by September 11th. October 7th. Let's make sure that (on) no other day are (we) going to be marking terror."

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