The Jerusalem Post has reported, based on information also obtained by Channel 12 Israel, that Hamas is making a significant comeback in the Gaza Strip by recruiting new members.
Channel 12 noted on Wednesday evening that the combined fighters of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad movement have reached between 20,000 to 23,000 members.
The Jerusalem Post highlighted that recent information indicates the number of fighters is closer to about 12,000, showcasing a significant discrepancy when compared with previous figures released by the Israeli military or Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The Israeli army has previously claimed to have killed between 17,000 to 20,000 members from Hamas and Jihad since the war began. Throughout the conflict, discrepancies between the estimates of the Israeli military and Netanyahu have been noted, calling some of the figures into question, according to the newspaper.
In June, the Israeli occupation forces claimed that between 14,000 to 16,000 Hamas fighters had indeed been wounded.
Furthermore, the newspaper learned that the Israeli army had detained more than 6,000 Gaza residents during the conflict, with at least 4,300 still being held captive, while a maximum of 2,200 people have been returned to Gaza, considered less dangerous.
Given that at the war’s onset, the Israeli military stated the total number of Hamas forces was 25,000, the current figures seem implausible unless one considers that Hamas might have almost entirely recruited a new force to replace its original strength, the paper suggests.
Another possibility considered by the Jerusalem Post is that despite the initial estimates of 25,000 Hamas forces at the start of the war, earlier pre-war estimates had placed their numbers at 30,000 or even 40,000.
The Jerusalem Post remarked that this might indicate that a majority of Hamas fighters remain from its original force, while undoubtedly thousands of new recruits have been added.
June witnessed the first reports of a significant resurgence of Hamas following the withdrawal of the Israeli army from northern Gaza in January and February and from Khan Younis on April 7.
The paper emphasized that these numbers starkly contrast the recent briefings provided by the Israeli occupation forces, which claimed that most of northern Gaza had been cleared of fighters.
According to an unnamed source cited by the newspaper, the total numbers remain unclear, and the quality of new Hamas fighters, whom the movement has armed, is significantly lower than earlier in the conflict, “as many of them are untrained minors.”
