‘It doesn't look good': Battling to survive, Hamas faces revolt from clans and waning Iranian support
Hamas weakness emboldens tribal challenges, analyst says
Ceasefire needed for Hamas to regroup, sources say
Israel demands exile and disarmament of the group
CAIRO, June 29 — Short of commanders, deprived of much of its tunnel network and unsure of support from its ally Iran, Hamas is battling to survive in Gaza in the face of rebellious local clans and relentless Israeli military pressure.
Hamas fighters are operating autonomously under orders to hold out as long as possible but the Islamist group is struggling to maintain its grip as Israel openly backs tribes opposing it, three sources close to Hamas said.
With a humanitarian crisis in Gaza intensifying international pressure for a ceasefire, Hamas badly needs a pause in the fighting, one of the people said.
Not only would a ceasefire offer respite to weary Gazans, who are growing increasingly critical of Hamas, but it would also allow the Islamist group to crush rogue elements, including some clans and looters who have been stealing aid, the person said.
To counter the immediate threat, Hamas has sent some of its top fighters to kill one rebellious leader, Yasser Abu Shabab, but so far he has remained beyond their reach in the Rafah area held by Israeli troops, according to two Hamas sources and two other sources familiar with the situation.
Reuters spoke to 16 sources including people close to Hamas, Israeli security sources and diplomats who painted a picture of a severely weakened group, retaining some sway and operational capacity in Gaza despite its setbacks, but facing stiff challenges.
Hamas is still capable of landing blows: it killed seven Israeli soldiers in an attack in southern Gaza on Tuesday. But three diplomats in the Middle East said intelligence assessments showed it had lost its centralised command and control and was reduced to limited, surprise attacks.
An Israeli military official estimated Israel had killed 20,000 or more Hamas fighters and destroyed or rendered unusable hundreds of miles of tunnels under the coastal strip. Much of Gaza has been turned to rubble in 20 months of conflict.
One Israeli security source said the average age of Hamas fighters was 'getting lower by the day'. Israeli security sources say Hamas is recruiting from hundreds of thousands of impoverished, unemployed, displaced young men.
Hamas does not disclose how many of its fighters have died.
'They're hiding because they are being instantly hit by planes but they appear here and there, organising queues in front of bakeries, protecting aid trucks, or punishing criminals,' said Essam, 57 a construction worker in Gaza City.
'They're not like before the war, but they exist.'
Asked for comment for this story, senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said the group was working for an agreement to end the war with Israel but 'surrender is not an option'.
Hamas remained committed to negotiations and was 'ready to release all prisoners at once', he said, referring to Israeli hostages, but it wanted the killing to stop and Israel to withdraw.
Palestinian Hamas militants keep guard on the day Hamas hands over deceased hostages, identified at the time by Palestinian militant groups as Oded Lifschitz, Shiri Bibas and her two children Kfir and Ariel Bibas, seized during the deadly October 7, 2023 attack, to the Red Cross, as part of a ceasefire and hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip February 20, 2025. — Reuters pic
'It doesn't look good'
Hamas is a shadow of the group that attacked Israel in 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking another 251 hostage, according to Israeli tallies. Israel's offensive has killed more than 56,000 people, according to Gaza health authorities.
The damage inflicted by Israel is unlike anything Hamas has suffered since its creation, with most of its top military commanders in Gaza killed. Founded in 1987, Hamas had gradually established itself as the main rival of the Fatah faction led by President Mahmoud Abbas and finally seized Gaza from his control in 2007. With a US-brokered truce in the Iran-Israel war holding, attention has switched back to the possibility of a Gaza deal that might end the conflict and release the remaining hostages.
One of the people close to Hamas told Reuters it would welcome a truce, even for a couple of months, to confront the local clans that are gaining influence.
But he said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's terms for ending the war — including Hamas leaders leaving Gaza — would amount to total defeat, and Hamas would never surrender.
'We keep the faith, but in reality, it doesn't look good,' the source said.
Yezid Sayigh, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Middle East Centre in Beirut, said he believed Hamas was simply trying to survive. That was not just a physical challenge of holding out militarily, he said, but above all a political one.
'They face being eliminated on the ground in Gaza if the war doesn't stop, but they also face being erased from any governing formula that ends the war in Gaza (if such a thing can be found),' he wrote in response to Reuters' questions.
Palestinian tribes have emerged as part of Israel's strategy to counter Hamas. Netanyahu has said publicly that Israel has been arming clans that oppose Hamas, but has not said which.
One of the most prominent challenges has come from Abu Shabab, a Palestinian Bedouin based in the Rafah area, which is under Israeli control.
Hamas wants Abu Shabab captured, dead or alive, accusing him of collaboration with Israel and planning attacks on the Islamist group, three Hamas sources told Reuters.
Abu Shabab controls eastern Rafah and his group is believed to have freedom of movement in the wider Rafah area. Images on their Facebook page show their armed men organising the entry of aid trucks from the Kerem Shalom crossing.
Announcements by his group indicate that it is trying to build an independent administration in the area, though they deny trying to become a governing authority. The group has called on people from Rafah now in other areas of Gaza to return home, promising food and shelter.
In response to Reuters' questions, Abu Shabab's group denied getting support from Israel or contacts with the Israeli army, describing itself as a popular force protecting humanitarian aid from looting by escorting aid trucks.
It accused Hamas of violence and muzzling dissent.
A Hamas security official said the Palestinian security services would 'strike with an iron fist to uproot the gangs of the collaborator Yasser Abu Shabab', saying they would show no mercy or hesitation and accusing him of being part of 'an effort to create chaos and lawlessness'.
Not all of Gaza's clans are at odds with Hamas, however.
On Thursday, a tribal alliance said its men had protected aid trucks from looters in northern Gaza. Sources close to Hamas said the group had approved of the alliance's involvement.
Israel said Hamas fighters had in fact commandeered the trucks, which both the clans and Hamas denied.
An Iranian man walks next to an installation with the flags of Iran, Hezbollah and Lebanon in a street in Tehran, Iran, October 18, 2024. — Wana pic via Reuters
Iran uncertainty
Palestinian analyst Akram Attallah said the emergence of Abu Shabab was a result of the weakness of Hamas, though he expected him to fail ultimately because Palestinians broadly reject any hint of collaboration with Israel.
Nevertheless, regardless of how small Abu Shabab's group is, the fact Hamas has an enemy from the same culture was dangerous, he said. 'It remains a threat until it is dealt with.'
Israel's bombing campaign against Iran has added to the uncertainties facing Hamas. Tehran's backing for Hamas played a big part in developing its armed wing into a force capable of shooting missiles deep into Israel.
While both Iran and Israel have claimed victory, Netanyahu on Sunday indicated the Israeli campaign against Tehran had further strengthened his hand in Gaza, saying it would 'help us expedite our victory and the release of all our hostages'.
US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that great progress was being made on Gaza, adding that the strike on Iran would help get the hostages released.
A Palestinian official close to Hamas said the group was weighing the risk of diminished Iranian backing, anticipating 'the impact will be on the shape of funding and the expertise Iran used to give to the resistance and Hamas'.
One target of Israel's campaign in Iran was a Revolutionary Guards officer who oversaw coordination with Hamas. Israel said Saeed Izadi, whose death it announced on Saturday, was the driving force behind the Iran-Hamas axis.
Hamas extended condolences to Iran on Thursday, calling Izadi a friend who was directly responsible for ties with 'the leadership of the Palestinian resistance'.
A source from an Iran-backed group in the region said Izadi helped develop Hamas capabilities, including how to carry out complex attacks, including rocket launches, infiltration operations, and drones.
Asked about how the Israeli campaign against Iran might affect its support for Hamas, Abu Zuhri said Iran was a large and powerful country that would not be defeated. — Reuters
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Straits Times
41 minutes ago
- New Straits Times
Senior EU official says Gaza crisis 'looks very much' like genocide
BRUSSELS: A senior member of the European Union's executive said the displacement and killing in Gaza looked very much like genocide, the first commissioner to level that accusation and publicly break with the body's position on the conflict. "If it is not genocide, it looks very much like the definition used to express its meaning," Teresa Ribera - the European Commission's second-highest ranking official - told Politico in an interview published on Thursday. Ribera is the European Commission's Executive Vice President, second only in seniority to President Ursula von der Leyen. The Spanish socialist, whose portfolio includes climate and anti-trust issues, is not responsible for EU foreign policy. "What we are seeing is a concrete population being targeted, killed and condemned to starve to death," Ribera told Politico. Her statements went further than the European Commission, which has accused Israel of violating human rights in Gaza, but stopped short of accusing it of genocide. The Commission last week proposed curbing Israeli access to its flagship research funding programme after calls from EU countries to increase pressure on Israel to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in the enclave. In that proposal, the Commission said Israel had violated a human rights clause in an agreement that governs its relations with the EU. "With its intervention in the Gaza Strip and the ensuing humanitarian catastrophe, including thousands of civilian deaths and rapidly rising numbers of spreading extreme malnutrition, specifically of children, Israel is violating human rights and humanitarian law," it wrote. The war was triggered when Hamas-led fighters attacked Israeli communities and military bases near Gaza on October 7, 2023. About 1,200 people, including more than 700 civilians, were killed, and 251 hostages were taken to Gaza. Israel's military response has devastated the tiny, crowded enclave, killing more than 61,000 people, mostly civilians, according to Palestinian health authorities.
Malay Mail
3 hours ago
- Malay Mail
Anwar stresses Malaysia's commitment to helping resolve Thailand-Cambodia border tensions
PUTRAJAYA, Aug 7 — Malaysia will continue to play the role of facilitator in helping to resolve the border issue between Thailand and Cambodia, as agreed by both countries, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. 'Alhamdulillah, at least for now, they want Malaysia to continue coordinating. They've given their commitment to comply with the conditions to ensure the ceasefire is fully observed. '… and for that, we will continue to play our role. There are one or two minor issues today, which we hope can be resolved,' he said during the Budget 2026 Engagement Session here today. Anwar said he had met with Cambodia's Defence Minister General Tea Seiha and Thailand's Acting Defence Minister General Natthaphon Narkphanit earlier today before attending the engagement session. 'I had discussions with both defence ministers just now. The Asean Defence Attaché Observer Team will help to monitor the situation, and we believe there is no longer any need for full Asean intervention,' he added. '…and China and the United States are not involved in monitoring the border. They are only offering cooperation and logistical assistance if necessary, and, of course, we indicate a need for it. But this remains a matter between the two countries, coordinated by Malaysia and fully supported by Asean,' Anwar said. Anwar said that during the courtesy visit, all parties also spelt out the steps that must be taken, as the situation involves a border area that remains disputed. 'But I said, regardless of the dispute, there's no need to shoot people, whether soldiers or civilians. Currently, around 300,000 people from both countries have been displaced, becoming refugees who must be relocated to more secure and controlled areas. 'So we must look after their interests. Today, the Defence Ministers are working to resolve things in more detail. So my discussion focused first on maintaining the ceasefire. 'Secondly, on the continuation of the GBC (General Border Committee) and the Regional Border Committee (RBC). These two levels — GBC and RBC — will continue with the agreement of the respective Defence Ministers and Cabinets of both countries. They have again entrusted us to help resolve the matter between the two nations, with Malaysia acting as coordinator,' he said. Anwar said that since the initial ceasefire agreement was signed on July 28, no major incidents have occurred in the conflict area. 'So I would like to express my thanks especially to our Chief of Defence Forces (General Tan Sri Mohd Nizam Jaffar), who immediately went to the ground that very night. The negotiations concluded around 6 pm, and by 10 pm, the Defence Forces Chief was already at the border to negotiate with his counterparts — the generals — both at the border and in Bangkok and Phnom Penh. 'That's why I say this kind of cooperation is extremely meaningful. Almost daily, I've been in contact with both the Prime Ministers of Cambodia and Thailand, as well as other partners, to ensure this effort truly succeeds,' he said. — Bernama
Malay Mail
6 hours ago
- Malay Mail
No-arms deal a ‘grave sin' as Israel bombs away: Hezbollah ministers walk out of Lebanese cabinet meeting
BEIRUT, Aug 7 — Hezbollah said Wednesday that it would treat a Lebanese government decision to disarm the militant group 'as if it did not exist', accusing the cabinet of committing a 'grave sin'. Amid heavy US pressure and fears Israel could expand its strikes on Lebanon, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said Tuesday that the government had tasked the army with developing a plan to restrict weapons to government forces by year end. The plan is to be presented to the government by the end of August for discussion and approval, and another cabinet meeting is scheduled for Thursday to continue the talks, including on a US-proposed timetable for disarmament. Hezbollah said the government had 'committed a grave sin by taking the decision to disarm Lebanon of its weapons to resist the Israeli enemy'. The decision is unprecedented since Lebanon's civil war factions gave up their weapons three and a half decades ago. 'This decision undermines Lebanon's sovereignty and gives Israel a free hand to tamper with its security, geography, politics and future existence... Therefore, we will treat this decision as if it does not exist,' the Iran-backed group said in a statement. 'Serves Israel's interests' The government said its decision came as part of implementing a November ceasefire that sought to end more than a year of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, which culminated in two months of full-blown war. Hezbollah said it viewed the government's move as 'the result of dictates from US envoy' Tom Barrack. It 'fully serves Israel's interests and leaves Lebanon exposed to the Israeli enemy without any deterrence', the group said. Hezbollah was the only faction that kept its weapons after Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war. It emerged weakened politically and militarily from its latest conflict with Israel, its arsenal pummelled and its senior leadership decimated. Israel has kept up its strikes on Hezbollah and other targets despite the November truce, and has threatened to keep doing so until the group has been disarmed. An Israeli strike on the southern town of Tulin on Wednesday killed one person and wounded another, the health ministry said. Israel also launched a series of air strikes on southern Lebanon, wounding at least two people according to the health ministry. The Israeli military said it struck 'weapons storage facilities, a missile launcher and Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure which stored engineering tools that allowed for the re-establishment of terrorist infrastructure in the area'. Hezbollah said Israel must halt the attacks before any domestic debate about its weapons and a new defence strategy could begin. 'Pivotal moment' 'We are open to dialogue, ending the Israeli aggression against Lebanon, liberating its land, releasing prisoners, working to build the state, and rebuilding what was destroyed by the brutal aggression,' the group said. Hezbollah is 'prepared to discuss a national security strategy', but not under Israeli fire, it added. Two ministers affiliated with Hezbollah and its ally the Amal movement walked out of Tuesday's meeting. Hezbollah described the walkout as 'an expression of rejection' of the government's 'decision to subject Lebanon to American tutelage and Israeli occupation'. The Amal movement, headed by parliament speaker Nabih Berri, accused the government of 'rushing to offer more gratuitous concessions' to Israel when it should have sought to end the ongoing attacks. It called Thursday's cabinet meeting 'an opportunity for correction'. Hezbollah opponent the Lebanese Forces, one of the country's two main Christian parties, said the cabinet's decision to disarm the militant group was 'a pivotal moment in Lebanon's modern history – a long-overdue step toward restoring full state authority and sovereignty'. The Free Patriotic Movement, the other major Christian party and a former ally of Hezbollah, said it was in favour of the army receiving the group's weapons 'to strengthen Lebanon's defensive power'. Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a televised interview that any decision on disarmament 'will ultimately rest with Hezbollah itself'. 'We support it from afar, but we do not intervene in its decisions,' he added, noting that the group had 'rebuilt itself' following setbacks during its war with Israel. — AFP
