Hamas, “weakened but…”. Experts and the fate of Palestinian terrorists –

Divided and weakened but not defeated. This is how Hamas appears six months after the attack on Israel on 7 October, according to the analysis of experts and sources close to the group, who underline that it still controls large parts of the Gaza Strip de facto, including those where the majority of of the population. The ‘Guardian’ recalls that in recent days Hamas ‘operators’ were seen, armed with sticks, controlling order in Khan Younis, the city in the south of the Gaza Strip from which the Israelis withdrew in recent days. And on Wednesday they resumed rocket fire against southern Israel.

If the organization’s leadership has not been decapitated – with Yahya Sinwar still impregnable – and a good part of the tunnels remains intact, what has instead been reduced is Hamas’s ability to govern the Strip, while thousands of fighters and warehouses of weapons are almost empty. And tensions remain between Sinwar and the group’s leaders abroad over the terms of the ceasefire and Hamas’ future strategy, confirm informed sources, in direct contact with some leading figures of the organisation. Added to this is the growing dissent of the exhausted population in Gaza, which is paying the price for the October 7 attack. So much so that in recent days Hamas had to publish a long statement on its Telegram channel in which it listed everything it has done for the Gazans, ensuring that the war against Israel will end with victory and freedom for the Palestinians.

Meanwhile, the Israelis insist on saying that they have killed 30-40 thousand militiamen, a figure that Hamas denies and on the other hand it is impossible to have independent confirmation, but according to some analysts the emphasis placed on the ‘kill count’ reveals the inability of the Israeli strategists to understand the nature of their enemy. According to Mkhaimar Abusada, a political science professor at Gaza’s al-Azhar University, now in Cairo, between a fifth and a quarter of the Strip’s population could be described as loyal to Hamas, for which support will not waver. «At the very least, it will be weakened militarily, but this will not put an end to Hamas. Hamas will continue at the popular level because of what 2 million+ people have gone through. Even though there are many, many Palestinians who are not happy with Hamas, there are others who will continue to provide support in different places and at different times,” the professor’s analysis. Who then comments: “I don’t think there will be a leadership crisis, but Hamas will no longer be able to carry out armed resistance in the same way.”