Despite losing more than 17,000 fighters in a relentless 15-month-long war campaign, Hamas rallied dozens of armed and masked terrorists to present an intimidating front for TV cameras during Sunday’s release of three Israeli hostages.
The men — wearing green headbands, military fatigues and sunglasses — were supported by a braying mob of Palestinians in Gaza City’s Saraya Square as they surrounded the Red Cross vehicles carrying hostages Romi Gonen, Emily Damari, and Doron Steinbrecher
The harrowing video was broadcast to the world, and offered a glimpse at something the US and others have been warning about: Hamas has not only survived Israel’s invasion and relentless bombing campaign after the Oct. 7, 2023 terror attacks, it is rebuilding.
Israel said that it has killed nearly 70% of Hamas’ terrorists, but the Biden administration warned this month that the group has been able to attract enough new recruits to completely replenish its numbers.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly said that the war will not end until Hamas is eradicated — something he repeated last year following the assassinations of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh and his successor, Gaza chief and Oct. 7 mastermind Yahya SInwar.
Yet the Israeli military’s advancements were constantly undermined by Hamas’ ability to quickly replace its leadership and rebuild its forces by making use of the nature of the prolonged war.
Sinwar’s younger brother, Mohammed, is currently in charge of the group and has put his focus on rebuilding Hamas through the promise of food and revenge to a new generation of fighters convinced that Israel is to blame for the 15-months of devastation in Gaza.
“We are in a situation where the pace at which Hamas is rebuilding itself is higher than the pace that the IDF is eradicating them,” Amir Avivi, a retired Israeli brigadier general, told the Wall Street Journal earlier this month.
“Mohammed Sinwar is managing everything.”
Arab officials told the outlet that Hamas may have recruited thousands of new operatives in recent months, by using the humanitarian crisis in Gaza to its advantage.
The group — which Israel says routinely intercepts and steals humanitarian deliveries — has been promising its new recruits food and medicine.
Hamas members are even going as far as attending funerals of Palestinians killed in the war in the hopes of winning over angry mourners.
The fruits of those efforts have been on display in northern Gaza, where the IDF failed to remove Hamas’ presence despite clearing out the area multiple times during the war.
Sunday’s hand off, which was carried out smoothly despite an eight hour delay, shocked viewers who witnessed the sea of Hamas terrorists escorting the Red Cross vehicle out as their supporters cheered on in an almost parade-like procession at the center of Gaza City.
The image was a direct message to Israel and the world that Hamas is still around and capable of governing Gaza despite months of devastation, according to CNN analysts Mick Krever and Eugenia Yosef.
Following the hostage exchange, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar admitted that the Jewish state has yet to meet its goal of dismantling Hamas — which was thought to have 25,000 armed terrorists on Oct. 7.
Western allies have long warned that Israel underestimated Hamas’ military numbers, with out-going US Secretary of State Antony Blinken revealing last week that the terror group has likely reclaimed all its losses.
“We’ve long made the point to the Israeli government that Hamas cannot be defeated by a military campaign alone,” Blinken said during a speech before the Atlantic Council.
“Each time Israel completes its military operations and pulls back, Hamas militants regroup and reemerge because there’s nothing else to fill the void,” he added.
“Indeed, we assess that Hamas has recruited almost as many new militants as it has lost.”
Hamas, which has governed the Gaza Strip since 2006, shows no sign that it will relinquish power once the initial cease-fire agreement concludes.
Hamas’ continued presence in Gaza has been the main point of contention in Israel’s parliament, with Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir resigning from office last week in protest of the cease-fire agreement, which he said should not go through until Israel wipes our Hamas entirely.
Critics, including Blinken, said Hamas’ strength shows there is no military solution to the war in Gaza — which Hamas-controlled health officials say has killed nearly 47,000 people.
That figure does not distinguish between terrorists and civillians.
“This deal forfeits the IDF’s hard-won achievements in the war, involves withdrawing forces from Gaza, and halts the fighting in a manner that capitulates to Hamas,” Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit party said in a statement.
Gvir’s resignation upended Netanyahu’s hold on power in Knesset, with the opposition, who has blamed the premier for the prolonged war, expected to hold a vote to replace him once the hostage negotiations conclude.
