IDF said to give Netanyahu document outlining how Hamas is rebuilding in Gaza

The military recently delivered a document to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu detailing how the Hamas terror group is gaining strength in the Gaza Strip and rebuilding its capabilities since the ceasefire that took effect in October, according to a Monday report.

Channel 13 news quoted the three-page report as saying that “approximately three months after the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip, it is evident that Hamas, despite the difficulties, continues to deepen its governance, looking ahead to the next phase of the agreement — an increase can be identified across all indicators of Hamas’s governance.”

The document appeared to refer to the second phase of the US-brokered ceasefire, which is currently underway and which aims to set up longer-term frameworks for governance and security in the Strip. Hamas is meant to disarm in phase two, though the terror group has rejected that demand, and there is widespread skepticism in Israel that it will do so.

“Hamas is taking steps on the ground intended to preserve its influence and grip on the Gaza Strip from below. This is being done by integrating its operatives into government ministries and the security apparatuses,” the report cited the document as saying.

“Looking ahead: In the absence of Hamas’s disarmament, and under the auspices of the technocratic committee, Hamas will, in our assessment, succeed in maintaining influence and control in the Gaza Strip,” the document added, according to the report.

Hamas retains control of just under half of Gaza following an October ceasefire deal brokered by US President Donald Trump. The agreement, laid out in Trump’s 20-point plan to end the war, ties further Israeli troop withdrawals to the disarmament of Hamas and the demilitarization of Gaza.

Trump claimed last week that “it looks like” Hamas is “going to disarm,” while his special envoy Steve Witkoff said: “They will because they have no choice. They’re going to give up their AK-47s.”

Trump did not provide any proof for the claim, which he made during a cabinet meeting.

Last week, The Times of Israel reported that Israel’s defense establishment believes Hamas will soon relinquish authority over the Gaza Strip to a newly formed committee of Palestinian technocrats. However, at least in the short term, the terror group would remain de facto in control of the territory.

According to an Israeli security official, Israel believes that even if Hamas officially announces that it has handed over control of Gaza to the technocratic government, it would still have tens of thousands of armed members in its military wing and internal security forces across the Strip, as well as civil servants in key roles.

The security official also said it was more likely that the IDF would have to act militarily against Hamas to disarm it, as it believes the terrorist organization will not do so of its own accord.

Hamas is said to be seeking to incorporate its 10,000 police officers into the new technocratic Palestinian administration for Gaza, a demand likely to be opposed by Israel, which regards all elements of Hamas, including its police, as components of the terrorist organization.

According to the IDF, members of Hamas’s police and internal security forces participated in the terror group’s October 7, 2023, terror onslaught, in which 1,200 people were massacred in southern Israel and 251 abducted, triggering the Gaza war. During the war, Israel repeatedly targeted and killed top commanders and other members of Hamas’s internal security forces, as well as members of its political wing.

Emanuel Fabian contributed to this report.