Palestinian sources confirm to i24NEWS the continued military, authoritative, and financial recovery of Hamas
In a limited capacity, Hamas has been manufacturing combat equipment and rehabilitating tunnels, with the continued operation of security apparatuses and salary payments to the movement's members
The strike carried out by the IDF on Sunday afternoon against a workshop, part of which is located underground in the industrial area south of Gaza City, was not a random incident. It was part of attempts to target the infrastructure that Hamas is trying to restore in the Strip.
The Israeli army said in a statement that it destroyed a facility for producing weapons at the site, resulting in the killing of some of its workers who were Hamas operatives. Drones bombed the location with two missiles, killing four Palestinians, before warplanes destroyed the site with four large missiles, causing explosions.
Palestinian sources confirm to i24news that Hamas still maintains control over the areas under its rule in the Gaza Strip, and that it continues to recover militarily, administratively, and financially.
The sources said that the manufacturing of combat equipment has resumed again, but it is considered relatively limited depending on the availability of necessary materials. They explained that there is an engineering team from Hamas that extracts unexploded Israeli rockets and recycles them, as is the case with iron and supplies needed for manufacturing such means, including rockets, mortars, explosive devices, and anti-armor projectiles.
Hamas reportedly issued a directive highlighting the importance of restoring some of its capabilities to be used in the event that Israel decides to resume its war, and strictly within a defensive context only, without carrying out any surprise attacks against Israeli targets in the yellow line area.
The sources confirmed that some of the defensive tunnels deep inside the Gaza Strip are being rehabilitated and used by Hamas as well.
Hamas security forces operate as they did before and continue to arrest suspects of working for Israeli intelligence. They also arrest their opponents, especially those who express their opinions on social media platforms and constantly criticize the movement, including those who participated in what became known as the June 26 Revolution, which failed to rally Palestinians to take to the streets against Hamas.
Some opponents of Hamas have been subjected to torture in recent months by the Internal Security Agency and the intelligence apparatus of the Al-Qassam Brigades.
It was also confirmed that Hamas is recovering financially and is regularly paying the salaries of activists in its political, military, advocacy, and social apparatuses, among others. Meanwhile, it is struggling to pay its government employees. Hamas continus to receive support from abroad, and it also relies on various means, including commercial and industrial activities, to serve its operations and provide it with money.
In recent days, activist Hamza Al-Masri revealed a major corruption operation within the Al-Qassam Brigades and disputes between leaders who were receiving money from Zaid Madi, one of the well-known entrepreneurs in Gaza. This was confirmed by i24NEWS sources.
The sources confirm that investigations were conducted into the involvement of those leaders, some of whom were found to have been receiving money from Madhi under official instructions from the commander of the Gaza Brigade, Mohannad Rajab. It is indicated that similar operations took place in other areas with initiators from various parties.