Is Hamas Collapsing?
Is Hamas collapsing? That now seems like a distinct possibility. On Sunday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said that captured Hamas terrorists said the group “is collapsing from within.” Now, it serves the IDF’s purpose to say Hamas is collapsing, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t true.
Two and a half months ago, it was reported that two-thirds of Hamas regiments had been destroyed. Now, the IDF says that it has dismantled 20 of the 24 Hamas regiments. Importantly though, “dismantled” does not mean “destroyed.” Remnants of some of the 20 dismantled regiments are still capable of waging an insurgency. Therefore, it is difficult to put a timetable on how long Israel’s operation will take.
But the IDF is likely to turn its focus on the remaining four of Hamas’ “completely operational” battalions. All four of these regiments are in Rafah. Unfortunately, Rafah is the home of 1.4 million displaced Palestinians. The Hamas terrorists are mainly in tunnels under the Palestinian civilians. As are the Israeli hostages. Getting to both sadly requires going through Palestinian civilians. Of course, this is exactly as Hamas planned. And of course, Israel will be blamed for the situation Hamas created.
Israeli officials say an offensive against Hamas terrorists in Rafah could be one of most difficult of the war. And it could last for weeks. American officials have said that without proper planning, such an offensive could lead to a humanitarian disaster. Israel, the US and multiple Middle Eastern countries are negotiating for a cease-fire. But it is difficult when Hamas refuses to release the Israeli hostages.
Recently, the US, for the first time, abstained and didn’t use their veto on a U.N. Security Council vote on Monday calling for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister canceled a high-level Israeli delegation visit to Washington to discuss the Rafah offensive. The US and Israel have been drifting apart on some of Israel’s actions. But the US’ refusal to stop the UN cease-fire resolution is the biggest rift so far.
Hamas is slowly being dismantled. And as a consequence, the pace of the war is slowing down. After nearly six months of fighting, the Israeli military might not have complete control of the strip, but they have freedom of movement. The IDF is carrying out more precise raids. Less Israeli soldiers are dying. And there are fewer intense battles raging.
Amid growing pressure from the international community, Israel is attempting to be more precise in their actions. But making sure that Hamas is totally destroyed will be difficult. If it can’t completely destroy Hamas, Israel aims to permanently degrade the terror group. Hamas has definitely been critically weakened.
Is Hamas collapsing? They definitely are. But Israel must finish them off to keep them from surviving and slowly rebuilding into the force that perpetrated the monstrous October 7th terrorist attacks.
