The Israeli army radio reported on Sunday, June 23, 2024, that an Israeli security official stated that all Hamas military frameworks are recovering as the movement attempts to rehabilitate itself across the Gaza Strip.
According to the Israeli army radio, Hamas is recovering in Gaza and seeks to rehabilitate its military capabilities by recruiting more fighters.
The Israeli army has observed increased efforts by Hamas to recruit and train new fighters. According to an Israeli official, Khan Yunis serves as a good example of Hamas’ recovery.
Hamas’ recovery extends beyond the military aspect. The Israeli official noted that Hamas is also working on restoring local governance by deploying its police forces and supervising aid distribution.
The Israeli army radio added that this focus led the Israeli military to target members of Hamas’ Ministry of Interior, General Security, Internal Security, Emergency Committees, and local police, resulting in the assassination of around 50 leaders and senior officials from these agencies.
On Wednesday, Israeli army spokesperson Daniel Haggai acknowledged that the goal of ending Hamas as a movement is not feasible. He considered the political leadership’s statements in Tel Aviv about destroying Hamas as an attempt to “throw dust in the eyes of Israelis.”
Since the start of the devastating Israeli war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had set “destroying Hamas” as one of the war’s objectives, despite skepticism among many Israeli military analysts and observers about the possibility of achieving this.
Haggai stated in an interview with Israeli Channel 13, “Hamas is an idea; you cannot destroy an idea. The political level must find an alternative to it, or it will remain.”
These Israeli statements come amid preparations for Israel to soon declare a “defeat” of the Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ military wing in Gaza.
However, a report from the American magazine Foreign Affairs confirms that despite nine months of Israeli air and ground combat operations in Gaza, Hamas has not been defeated. Israel is also far from defeating the movement, which has become stronger since October 7 last year.
Since Hamas’ attack in October last year, Israel invaded northern and southern Gaza with about 40,000 combat soldiers, forcing 80% of the population inside the sector to flee and killing over 37,000 people, most of them civilians. More than 70,000 tons of bombs were dropped on the sector.
According to Foreign Affairs, Hamas has evolved into a resilient and deadly “armed gang” in Gaza, with renewed ground operations in northern areas that Israel had supposed to have controlled just a few months ago, as claimed.
Sources from Foreign Affairs suggest that Hamas currently has around 15,000 fighters on the ground, nearly ten times the number of fighters who carried out attacks on October 7. Moreover, over 80% of the organization’s underground tunnel network remains operational, serving purposes such as weapon storage, evasion of surveillance, retaining prisoners, and launching attacks on Israeli forces. Most of Hamas’ top leadership in Gaza remains intact.
