FUTURE OF HAMAS
Meanwhile, Hamas, which has controlled Gaza for almost two decades, has displayed its staying power in the enclave despite losing its top leadership and thousands of fighters.
Panikoff cautioned that Hamas would likely try to rebuild.
“I think Hamas certainly is going to have a recruitment drive,” he told CNA’s Asia First.
“One of the reasons Hamas was able to build its weapons capabilities was fundamentally because Iran was supplying it to them. That’s going to be harder today,” said Panikoff.
“I think it’s going to be harder to smuggle in the weapons like it previously was. That doesn’t mean Hamas might not still be able to have some capabilities remaining and be able to recruit members.”
Hamas released the first three female hostages on Sunday, in exchange for 90 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
The releases are part of phase one of the deal, in which 33 of the remaining 98 hostages in Gaza will be released over six weeks in return for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.
The hostages were taken when Hamas gunmen stormed into southern Israel on Oct 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 250 captives, according to Israeli tallies. Most have since been released or killed.
A further 400 Israeli soldiers and security personnel have been killed in combat in Gaza.
About 47,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s retaliatory campaign, according to Gaza-based health officials.
