Resumption of Gaza war inevitable, Israel’s top brass fears – report

Hamas using unexploded IDF ordnance to build bombs and rockets, Israeli officials warn, as the terror group strengthens its hold over parts of Gaza not under IDF control.

By World Israel News Staff

Israeli military officials are warning that Hamas is using the ceasefire in Gaza to rebuild its military and governing capabilities, arguing that the relative quiet from the Strip is giving the Israeli public a misleading picture of the situation on the ground, Israel Hayom reported on Thursday morning.

Defense officials cited by the report say that Hamas is exploiting delays in the implementation of the second stage of the ceasefire deal as a “window of opportunity” to rearm, restore control and prepare for another round of fighting, which Israel’s security establishment now views as inevitable.

Despite damage to the terror group’s capabilities during the war, Hamas is believed to be manufacturing improvised explosive devices and possibly small numbers of rockets.

Israeli security officials cited by Israel Hayom said the aid corridor into Gaza has become one of the channels enabling Hamas to recover. They said at least two recent shipments were found to contain banned materials hidden inside approved humanitarian goods.

The officials said the findings were not isolated cases but part of a broader system meant to prevent Hamas from collapsing.

Officials said Hamas has also increased its visible presence in areas of Gaza not held by the IDF, with armed checkpoints, restored governing mechanisms and operatives moving openly in public. They said the group controls more than two-thirds of the territory outside Israeli-held areas through force, intimidation, cash payments and control over parts of the humanitarian aid system.

The report said Hamas is using aid in four ways: smuggling weapons and dual-use goods, generating cash by seizing and selling supplies, blocking alternative governing bodies, and moving communications and intelligence equipment under humanitarian cover.

Israeli authorities have previously reported multiple smuggling cases involving Gaza aid routes. In April, prosecutors prepared indictments against two IDF officers and a civilian suspected of exploiting humanitarian aid trucks to smuggle prohibited goods into Gaza for profit, including cigarettes and cellular devices.

In another case, prosecutors said four Arab Israelis were charged with trafficking goods into Gaza while aware they could reach Hamas and its operatives. The alleged goods included cigarettes, electronics and other high-value items.

Thursday’s report said Hamas has also sought to move weapons and ammunition by drones from Egypt and has developed maritime smuggling methods involving containers floating toward the southern Gaza coast.

Security officials said the assumption that closed borders can fully prevent Hamas from rebuilding is mistaken. They warned that the terror group is also using unexploded Israeli ordnance to assemble new weapons.

Israel’s top military brass is now increasingly convinced that renewed fighting in Gaza may become unavoidable if Hamas does not accept US demands that it disarm.

For now, the officials said Israel should continue pressing for a Gaza demilitarization agreement and avoid allowing other fronts to divert attention from that goal.