Report: IDF estimates Hamas managed to rebuild military wing 'significantly'
Internal IDF document says Hamas has used the ceasefire to recruit new members and bolster its control over the territory it holds
A report produced by the IDF's intelligence wing estimates that the Palestinian terrorists of Hamas have used the ceasefire to rebuild their military capabilities in Gaza, according to a report by Israel's Channel 12 News.
According to the findings of the IDF document, circulated among the military cadres, Hamas is mounting an accelerated recruitment drive for new operatives, which has been relatively successful in rebuilding its military wing, devastated by the IDF in the two-year war that followed the October 7, 2023 massacre.
The terror group has also been restoring its political sovereignty and economic grip over parts of Gaza, including the distribution of goods entering the war-ravaged Palestinian enclave.
Earlier this month, the group has rejected the disarmament plan put forward by Nickolay Mladenov, the high representative for Gaza on the U.S.-led Board of Peace.
The first phase of U.S. President Donald Trump's peace plan halted the war, returned all Israeli hostages still held by Hamas in exchange for Palestinian terrorists jailed by Israel, and saw the IDF pull back to a security perimeter.
Yet there's been deadlock on second phase, announced in January by U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff. The second phase aims to secure a permanent end to the war by the demilitarisation of armed Palestinian factions, and a subsequent Israeli withdrawal.