Hamas used ceasefire to re-arm, still poses a threat to Israel, warns US intel

Joint report published by American intelligence agencies warns that Hamas still constitutes a threat to Israel, maintaining a terrorist army of thousands with a significant arsenal.

By David Rosenberg, World Israel News

The Hamas terror organization still constitutes a threat to Israel, American intelligence experts warned, adding that Hamas likely took advantage of the ceasefire with Israel in the Gaza Strip to replenish its arsenal and reinforce its military strength.

On Tuesday, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence published its annual threat report, based on assessments from across the United States Intelligence Community, spanning over 1,000 separate government agencies and organizations.

In its 2025 report, the U.S. Intelligence Community argued that despite the significant losses Hamas has suffered since October 7, 2023, and the degrading of its military capabilities during its war with Israel, the Iran-backed Islamist terror group still retains significant assets and continues to constitute a threat to Israel.

“Even in degraded form, Hamas continues to pose a threat to Israeli security,” the report said.

The authors added that Hamas likely was able to use the January 19th ceasefire – which officially lapsed on March 2, but was continued in effect until last Tuesday – to reconstitute some of its military capacity, including rearming.

“The group retains thousands of fighters and much of its underground infrastructure, and probably has used the ceasefire to reinforce and resupply its military and munitions stock so that it can fight again.”

While Hamas’s ability to launch a large-scale offensive is significantly reduced, the report said the group can maintain “low-level” activities against Israel inside Gaza over the long-term, enabling it to retain its position as the leading Palestinian force in the coastal enclave.

“Hamas is capable of resuming a low-level guerrilla resistance and of remaining the dominant political action in Gaza for the foreseeable future. Low expectations on all sides that a ceasefire will endure and the absence of a credible post-fighting political and reconstruction plan, portend years of instability.”

Support for Hamas has declined in Gaza during the course of the ongoing war, U.S. intel experts said, but noted that “its popularity remains high among West Bank Palestinians.”