From: The Jerusalem Post January 23, 2025
Hamas commander back from the dead and Israel's Gaza problem

After the ceasefire on January 19 the IDF redeployed the Nahal Brigade, which had been fighting in Beit Hanun, to the border area to prepare for new missions. This again illustrates the challenge the IDF faced in northern Gaza.

Three months of tough fighting from October to January demonstrated how hard it was to remove Hamas completely from this area. That someone such as Fiad has not only survived but has popped up to declare victory is an example of the Hamas plan all along.

1. Hamas always believed all it had to do was hide in the rubble and wait.
2. It didn’t need to confront the IDF with “battalions” of fighters.
3. It split them up into small groups and waited.

While Hamas may have suffered thousands of casualties – according to IDF estimates, nearly 20,000 of its fighters were eliminated – the terrorist group continues to hold on to Gaza.

In the absence of any other group willing to administer the area, it will continue to run things with men such as Fiad.

He makes no secret of Hamas’s strategy.
The challenge Israel has faced in confronting such a strategy is that it has not come up with an effective counterstrategy.