Voice of America News reports: “Israel’s war against Hezbollah and Hamas, while inflicting considerable damage, has yet to strike a crippling blow to either of the Iran-backed terror groups, according to a top U.S. counterterrorism official.

The acting director of the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) said Tuesday that the impact of Israeli intelligence operations, along with repeated military airstrikes and ground offensives in Lebanon and Gaza, have severely diminished the ability of both groups to launch new attacks on Israel.

But he cautioned that both groups remain resilient, and in the case of Hezbollah, retain significant capabilities.

‘Before the conflict, they [Hezbollah] had built up unprecedented numbers of rockets and missiles and other munitions,’ the NCTC’s Brett Holmgren told an audience in Washington, adding that the Lebanese group was starting at a ‘very strong point.’

…Hamas, which touched off the war in Gaza when it launched its October 7, 2023, terror attack that killed about 1,200 mostly Israeli civilians, has also suffered greatly, according to the latest U.S. assessments.

‘Militarily, they have been significantly diminished,’ Holmgren said. ‘They’re essentially morphing into an insurgent force on the ground.’…”