Hamas’s leadership views its ability to withstand the IDF over the past three years as a form of “victory,” despite Israel’s control of approximately 70% of the Gaza Strip, according to Friday intelligence presented to Israel’s senior political and defense leadership, including the prime minister and defense minister.
Hamas considers Israel’s territorial control “temporary,” according to the information presented to officials.
“They are convinced that US President Donald Trump’s points-based plan for the Gaza Strip, which his son-in-law Kushner is advancing, including a plan for economic development involving tens of billions of dollars in investment, is a direct continuation of Sheik Ahmed Yassin’s vision from 1999,” a senior security official said. “They believe in it even if it is delayed.”
The senior security official added: “They tell themselves, and we can see this, that by launching an attack with men wearing beards, jalabiyas, and flip-flops, and through their steadfast resistance against the IDF even after three years, they have not been defeated. They have not surrendered to an army that everyone says is the strongest in the Middle East. Something no other Arab army in the Middle East has managed to achieve.”
According to the official, Hamas is therefore preparing for an IDF ground maneuver toward Gaza City, despite tensions between the terrorist organization’s local leadership and Khalil al-Hayya in Qatar.
Hamas terrorists celebrating during a rally in the northern Gaza Strip. (credit: SUHAIB SALEM/REUTERS)
Hamas prepares for possible IDF ground offensive in Gaza City
“They are really working on this around the clock, in many ways: recruiting operatives, distributing weapons, digging defensive tunnels, manufacturing explosive devices, producing short-range projectiles, and preparing surprises,” the official said.
Meanwhile, the IDF Southern Command, Military Intelligence Directorate, Israel Air Force, and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) have stepped up the pace of targeted killings of terrorists who participated in the October 7 attacks, as well as operatives preparing to carry out terrorist attacks or establish terrorist infrastructure.
The operations are intended to increase pressure on Hamas and disrupt efforts to rebuild its military wing.
The senior official further explained that because Hamas’s leadership refuses to disarm or hand over control of the Gaza Strip to an alternative governing authority, the IDF is preparing for a scenario involving the mass movement of civilians and a ground maneuver into the heart of Gaza City.
The objective would be to dismantle terrorist infrastructure and destroy the battalions of Hamas’s military wing that retain a high level of operational readiness.
The official assessed that a ground maneuver would ultimately be unavoidable.
According to an assessment within Israel’s defense establishment, a decision on the issue will be made after the elections in Israel.
Ahmed Yassin’s vision for Israel’s destruction
Ahmed Yassin, the founder and leader of Hamas who was killed in an Israeli targeted strike in 2004, described Israel as “a temporary entity destined to disappear completely from the map and be replaced by an Islamic state throughout the entire Land of Israel.”
In a 1999 interview with Al Jazeera, Yassin claimed that the State of Israel would cease to exist by 2027, or by 2028 at the latest.
His prediction was based on a theory of 40-year periods, which he divided into several stages.
The first was the generation of the Nakba, extending from 1948 until the 1980s. The second was the generation of resistance, which began the armed struggle against Israel.
The final generation, according to Yassin’s vision, would bring about Hamas’s victory, Israel’s ultimate collapse, and the establishment of an Islamic state on its territory.