“Hamas is the shadow army.” This is why Israeli tanks returned to northern Gaza Policy

The Israeli army said months ago that it had dismantled the forces of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) in the northern third of Gaza, but the movement’s fighters have resurfaced, showing that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s main war goal of completely eradicating Hamas is far from being achieved.

This is how the French newspaper Le Parisien prepared a report in which it said that while all eyes are on Rafah, fighting is raging again in the rest of the Strip.

The newspaper noted, in a report by its writer, Leo Agis, that the Israeli army began carrying out new military operations in the northern coastal strip in recent days, with the declared aim of preventing Hamas “from rebuilding its military capabilities.”

The writer stated that the Jabalia area, which includes the largest refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, as well as the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood in Gaza City, once again turned into a scene of violent clashes.

In this context, the Palestinian daily newspaper Al-Ayyam was quoted as saying that Israeli forces’ tanks have been advancing in this area since the end of last week “under heavy fire cover from artillery and aircraft.”

Interpretation of return

This comes at a time when the Israeli army has confirmed that Hamas forces have been crushed, indicating that it is, instead, trying to restructure itself on the basis of dismantled brigades, according to what the writer quoted from Middle East affairs specialist David Rigolet Rose, who It is also believed that “the military wing of Hamas has redeployed to areas in the north, and it appears that some underground infrastructure still connects some areas of the Strip to each other.”

But how can we explain the return of Hamas to this region, which the Israeli army believed was completely safe to the point of withdrawing part of its forces from it? The writer wonders.

This is what retired French Colonel Michel Goya explained to the newspaper, saying, “For 20 years, the Israeli doctrine was based on not getting involved in ground war zones, and this area is in fact not subject to the control of the Israeli army, and Hamas enjoys a certain amount of freedom of movement there.”

Ansel: Hamas has a shadow army. They move through tunnels and have hideouts, and they cannot be distinguished from others because they do not wear military uniforms.

Although the Israeli army destroyed the apparent infrastructure of Hamas, this movement has a shadow army. They move through tunnels and have hideouts, and they cannot be distinguished as they do not wear military uniforms. Rather, they are civilians who carry weapons at certain times, and they do not have tanks, battalions, or headquarters. According to former French officer Guillaume Ancel.

The writer wondered, “Is eliminating this armed group possible at all, especially since it seems determined to survive despite the elimination of its leaders and a large portion of its fighters?”

Here, the writer quotes Ansel as saying, “Hamas is a galaxy of disorganized family clans, and even with its loss of thousands of men, it is able to recruit very quickly,” adding, “We can destroy a political-military structure, but it is difficult to eliminate an ideology,” according to For this expert.