Hamas reinforcing control over Gaza, putting effectiveness of Board of Peace in doubt

Israeli officials reject any prospect of Hamas retaining power.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Hamas is reinforcing its control over Gaza by embedding loyal members throughout civilian and security institutions, raising doubts about the viability of US President Donald Trump’s peace plan as his administration launched a new international oversight body, according to an Israeli military assessment reviewed by Reuters.

The classified document, presented to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in late January, concludes that Hamas is consolidating authority through appointments, revenue collection, and salary payments while refusing to disarm.

Israeli military officials assess that the group has used the October ceasefire to reestablish dominance in territory vacated by Israeli forces, even as Israel continues to control more than half of the enclave.

Trump’s plan conditions an Israeli military withdrawal on Hamas giving up its weapons and transferring civilian administration to a US-backed Palestinian technocratic committee.

That committee, headed by Ali Shaath, a former Palestinian Authority official, was appointed in January as the next phase of the initiative.

Hamas says it is prepared to hand over administration but claims Israel has not permitted committee members to enter Gaza to assume their duties.

Israeli officials reject any prospect of Hamas retaining power. An Israeli government official, speaking anonymously, dismissed the idea of a future governing role for the group as a “twisted fantasy,” saying, “Hamas is finished as a governing authority in the Gaza Strip.”

Netanyahu did not respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.

Reuters reported that Hamas has named five district governors, all linked to its armed al-Qassam Brigades, and replaced senior officials in Gaza’s economy and interior ministries, which oversee taxation and internal security.

A new deputy health minister has also appeared publicly in a ministry video released this month. Reuters could not independently determine the full scope of the appointments or the group’s financial rebuilding efforts.

Israeli military officials warned in their assessment that even under a technocratic framework, Hamas would retain effective control absent disarmament, a conclusion first reported by Channel 13 News.

The concerns surfaced as Trump convened the inaugural meeting of his international Board of Peace in Washington on Thursday.

Speaking to delegates, Trump said he believed Hamas would disarm despite the military assessment. “Hamas has been, I think they’re going to give up their weapons, which is what they promised,” he said. “If they don’t, it’ll be, you know, they’ll be harshly met, very harshly met.”

Trump also said the fighting in Gaza had ended while acknowledging lingering instability. “The war in Gaza is over. It’s over,” he said, adding there were still “little flames.”

Trump said US allies have contributed more than $7 billion to Gaza relief efforts and that the United States plans to contribute about $10 billion.