Hamas is rebuilding a new Gaza terror apparatus and using the ceasefire with Israel to boost its military, restore a problematic leadership structure and recruit a new generation of teenage fighters, according to a leading national security analyst.
Professor Kobi Michael, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies and the Misgav Institute, told Fox News Digital that the pause in fighting has given Hamas breathing room to regroup.
"Everything that is happening will continue happening as long as Hamas continues to effectively control the western part of the Gaza Strip," Michael said.
"Generally speaking, Hamas now has full freedom of movement," he warned.
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Since Israeli forces withdrew from parts of Gaza in October under a new ceasefire framework, Hamas has moved to fill the power vacuum.
At the time, police forces returned to the streets as Hamas fighters targeted and executed suspected opponents.
Multiple reports indicate Hamas is now rebuilding across significant portions of Gaza, including areas where the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) previously operated.
A December report by the Jewish News Syndicate found that Hamas is "actively rebuilding its regime of terror" in nearly half of the territory it controls.
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Hamas is also preparing to elect a new political leader following the deaths of Ismail Haniyeh and Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind of the Oct. 7 massacre in Israel.
According to The Jerusalem Post, senior Hamas figures Khalil al-Hayya and Khaled Mashaal are the contenders, with Hayya seen as the favorite because of his popularity in Gaza and his role in the West Bank.
Michael said the leadership race is unlikely to alter Hamas’s already dangerous course.
"Both leaders are problematic," he said. "Each one, in his own way, is considered to be more militant and more radical in his Gazan orientation and his support for armed resistance."
Even Mashaal, often described as more politically oriented, "is still in favor of the continuation of armed resistance," Michael added.
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"When it comes to Hamas, it doesn’t really matter who is going to be the next political leader of this terror organization."
Michael said one of the most alarming developments is Hamas’s growing success in recruiting teenagers during the ceasefire.
"It has become very easy for Hamas to recruit teenagers now because they effectively control the western part of the Gaza Strip," he said, noting Hamas has become "the most reliable employer in the Gaza Strip," offering small incomes to boys as young as 16 or 17.
"It seems to be very natural for them to join Hamas, because some of them have also lost relatives, and therefore there's a revenge incentive."
"They also might prefer to be in the bullyish-types of neighborhoods, like in the ghettos in Chicago," he said.
Michael suggested that because Hamas has "full freedom of movement, they have also been rebuilding tunnels."
"They also appointed new governors to the different districts in Gaza and are reconstituting their government and military stockpiles," Michael added.
