Senior Hamas official says group’s control over Gaza has ‘completely collapsed’

A senior Hamas official tells the BBC that the terror group has lost control of around 80% of the Gaza Strip and that there is “barely anything left” of its military structure.

The British news outlet says it received a number of voice messages from a “senior officer” in Hamas, identified only as a lieutenant colonel who was wounded in October 2023.

“Let’s be realistic here — there’s barely anything left of the security structure. Most of the leadership, about 95%, are now dead… The active figures have all been killed,” he said. “So really, what’s stopping Israel from continuing this war?”

The official claims that the war “has to continue until the end. All the conditions are aligned: Israel has the upper hand, the world is silent, the Arab regimes are silent, criminal gangs are everywhere, society is collapsing.”

He says since the end of the latest ceasefire in March, Hamas’s security control in Gaza “has completely collapsed. Totally gone. There’s no control anywhere,” pointing to extensive looting of Hamas’s complex with no intervention.

“So, the security situation is zero. Hamas’s control is zero. There’s no leadership, no command, no communication. Salaries are delayed, and when they do arrive, they’re barely usable. Some die just trying to collect them. It’s total collapse.”