A senior officer in Hamas' security forces claimed that the terrorist organization has lost control over approximately 80% of the Gaza Strip and that its command and control chain has collapsed—militarily, politically and security-wise, the BBC reported.
"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," according to the senior officer, who told BBC he held the equivalent rank of lieutenant colonel.
Gazans flee during aid distribution near Netzarim Corridor
The British network reported that the former officer was injured in the first week of the war and since then has retired due to “health reasons.”
“What’s stopping Israel from continuing the war,” he said during the interview with the BBC, adding: "Logically, it 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."
"About the security situation, let me be clear: it has completely collapsed. Totally gone. There's no control anywhere," said the former officer, noting that when people looted Hamas’ Ansar headquarters—which served as the organization’s control center in Gaza—no one intervened. “They looted everything, the offices - mattresses, even zinc panels - and no-one intervened. No police, no security."
He claimed that six armed groups are active in Gaza today, which he described as criminal gangs. One of them belongs to Yasser Abu Shabab and, as previously reported by Ynet. According to the officer, the vacuum of authority means these armed groups are "everywhere.”
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Yaha Sinwar and Mohammed Deif were assassinated by the IDF in Gaza
(Photos: Mohammed Salem/Reuters)
“They could stop you, kill you. No one would intervene. Anyone who tried to act on their own, like organizing resistance against thieves, was bombed by Israel within half an hour,” he said.
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About a week and a half ago, Reuters quoted Hamas sources saying that terrorists in Gaza are now operating independently, meaning not under centralized command, and have been ordered “to hold their ground” as long as possible. The sources added that the terror group is struggling to maintain control in the Strip—partly due to the strategy under which Israel backs and arms various clans opposing Hamas.
One source said that Hamas “desperately needs” a ceasefire with Israel: Alongside the humanitarian crisis in the Strip, he noted that such a pause would give the terror group an opportunity “to crush” rogue factions, including those opposing it or criminals looting aid.