The Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya vindicated that advice in his speech after the ceasefire was announced on Wednesday night.
Hamas has taken a battering during Israel’s unprecedented bombardment, losing thousands of fighters, much of its weapons stockpiles and manufacturing capacity, and its senior leadership.
The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, said this week: “We assess that Hamas has recruited almost as many new militants as it has lost.”
An Israeli soldier secures a Hamas tunnel near the border with Israel in December. Many of the group’s tunnels have been restored during the war, according to a report (Photo: Amir Levy/Getty Images)The group has found ways to survive and even strengthen under the onslaught, according to a December research paper from the European Council on Foreign Relations think-tank.
Hamas fighters are “waiting out Israel’s offensive in ‘hibernation mode’ – hiding in abandoned buildings and tunnels or escaping with fleeing civilians.”
The former Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant and Israel Defence Forces (IDF) chief Herzi Halevi argued that the only way to defeat Hamas was to bring in another Palestinian-led government to replace it – an option also advocated by the Biden administration.
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Read More“The ones paying the price for the lack of decision-making are IDF soldiers,” said Gallant, noting that after Israeli operations finish in one part of Gaza, “Hamas re-establishes itself.”
The Israeli leader has justified this by claiming that the PA is too close to militant groups.
But many analysts believe Netanyahu is more comfortable with a designated terror organisation running Gaza than a group he might be compelled to negotiate with over Palestinian statehood – as demonstrated by years of co-operation with Hamas under his leadership before the 7 October 2023 attacks on Israel.
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