A report published in Yediot Achronot on Tuesday disclosed that the current ceasefire is giving Hamas the opportunity to reorganize and strategize for further assaults on Israeli civilians.
Military journalist Yoav Zitun underscored the situation, stating, “Hamas was not defeated in the war – far from it. Many thousands of its operatives returned from the southern Gaza Strip to its north when the IDF withdrew from the Netzarim Corridor among the half million Gazans who did so.”
The article detailed how thousands of armed militants have made their way back to northern Gaza, where they have reconstructed their combat units.
Moreover, during the lull in fighting, Hamas operatives have been gathering significant amounts of explosive material from unexploded Israeli munitions, repurposing them to create new minefields.
At the same time, the group has restored its surveillance infrastructure, utilizing drones and cameras to reestablish intelligence operations. Additionally, it has uncovered and repositioned rocket launchers that remained intact despite the war.
Hamas has also been working on underground networks, reinforcing the tunnels that went undetected by the IDF and repairing those that sustained damage in Israeli strikes.
“There are commanders who the IDF and ISA were certain that they were eliminated, and returned to life. Hamas made a strategic decision during the first month of the war once it understood that Hezbollah abandoned it: to withdraw most of its terrorists to the displaced cities and to save as many arms as it could. In addition, Hamas is restrengthening its control through the Gazan municipalities as well, it provides municipal services to Gazans and collects taxes from the distribution of food and fuel from the aid that Israel allows in, so it could pay its operatives,” Zetun explained.
Meanwhile, the IDF is finalizing its preparations for a large-scale military operation, involving both ground and air forces, with reserve brigades also set to participate. “Hamas is very hurt, with a lack of men and weapons, but there is still a lot of work to defeat it militarily,” Zitun concluded.
{Matzav.com Israel}