Hamas militants have returned to northern Gaza, where they are mobilising against Israeli forces and rebuilding a system of governance, according to aid officials, Gaza residents, analysts and Israeli officials. The apparent resurgence comes in areas previously seized and cleared by Israeli troops during the nearly four-month offensive, highlighting the difficulty Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces in fulfilling his pledge to “crush” the militant group.
Eyal Hulata, former head of Israel’s national security council, said: “We are hearing more, unfortunately, of the recovery of [an] insurgency in both central and northern Gaza … We’re hearing more and more that Hamas are doing policing in northern Gaza and governing trade, and that is a very bad outcome.” Michael Milstein of the Institute for National Security Studies added that Hamas had re-established control in parts of the ruined northern zone, including Shaati camp, Jabaliya, Shejaiya, and Gaza City.
An Israeli Defence Forces officer, whose unit recently fought Hamas militants in Shaati camp, noted: “You can’t say if they have come back or never went away, but either way they are there now.” Milstein explained that while the basic military structure of Hamas was broken in the north, “that only works with a conventional army but not for a flexible guerrilla operation like Hamas. We are already seeing individuals as snipers, setting booby traps and so on.”
International aid officials based in southern Gaza reported that Hamas police remain visible in some areas, including the north, and continue to provide escort for convoys. However, they noted a generalised breakdown of law and order, particularly in central Gaza, which is neither controlled by Hamas nor Israeli forces. William Schomburg, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Gaza, said: “There is a generalised breakdown of law and order. Criminality overall is increasing which is very concerning as civilian needs become ever more desperate.”
A senior UN official described Rafah in the south as “the last remaining place with any real civil order” due to the presence of local Hamas police. Meanwhile, several attacks on aid convoys have been blamed on powerful families in central Gaza, suggesting that longstanding clan rivalries are resurfacing amid the conflict.
