Hamas is not waiting for reconstruction: the new threat to Israel is expanding to global arenas
In a discussion held by senior IDF officials with the political echelon, a worrying picture was presented: Hamas views the October 7 massacre as an achievement, not a catastrophe. Alongside this, Israel is concerned about the line led by Khalil al-Hayya — radical Islamism alongside the continuation of "resistance" — and the attempt to promote terror infrastructure around the world.
A senior security official said today (Tuesday) that "Hamas summarizes October 7 as an achievement." In a discussion held this week by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz, and the Chief of Staff, with the participation of senior IDF General Staff and intelligence officials, including the commander of the Southern Command, Major General Yaniv Asor, several dramatic processes occurring within Hamas were presented.
Another no less worrying process includes the election of Khalil al-Hayya, the most radical figure, as the leader of Hamas. Despite the fact that he was elected by a narrow margin, he continues the radical line and speaks of continuing the resistance in order to stand out.
According to sources in the security establishment, Khalil al-Hayya is leading a very dangerous line: a permanent radical Islamist policy but with flexibility in methods. In his view, the path must be adapted according to circumstances, but the principle of resistance to Israel must not be changed.
Security establishment recommendation to Netanyahu and Katz: Treat Hamas as a multi-arena threat
Furthermore, senior officials in the security establishment recommended that the Prime Minister and the Defense Minister treat Hamas as a multi-arena threat. This is not only due to activity from the Gaza Strip, where the IDF exercises control to a high extent, but because of the aspirations it promotes alongside the West Bank around the world: Lebanon, Turkey, Qatar, Jordan, Syria, and other countries.
Hamas, according to the assessment of sources in the security establishment, will try to refine and promote terror infrastructure against Israel around the world and will not wait to rehabilitate its power in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. The sources estimated that Hamas is already at this stage promoting flotillas and demonstrations around the world to support its propaganda against Israel and echo the Palestinian narrative.
Regarding the Gaza Strip, sources in the security establishment say that despite the fact that the IDF has caused Hamas damage and severe harm to its military wing over about three years of fighting, the organization is returning to establish brigades, battalions, and companies. Even if as a terrorist body they remain without a high-quality command force and lack operational experience as before, the process of regrouping continues.
Another point of view being examined by the IDF as part of the lessons of the war: Hamas companies and platoons at their peak did not surrender to the IDF as a framework. According to security sources, the IDF must investigate the issue in depth to understand how to collapse the command and control system as a sensitive point in the first stage.
According to assessments in the security establishment, Hamas is failing to smuggle weapons into the Gaza Strip, except for isolated incidents. The military wing has returned to recruiting operatives and training, but under severe restrictions because the IDF monitors activity in the Gaza Strip. In addition, Hamas has returned to producing weapons (trajectory weapons and explosive devices) based on raw materials from the past or IDF unexploded ordnance collected by operatives.
One of the notable achievements is related to the underground world. According to assessments in the security establishment, the IDF has managed to destroy about 80% of the volume of Hamas tunnels. Hamas has hardly directed resources in the last year to building new tunnels because it understood that the IDF has learned the threat well and developed a lethal response.
The question of handing over weapons subject to American pressure on the movement's leaders is one of the mines that the heads of the security establishment are dealing with. The fear is that the terrorist organization, which has not given up on the idea of resistance and the establishment of an Islamist Palestinian state from the river to the sea, will try to present a false picture of handing over weapons to a third party, and the Americans may buy the proposal.
