Israeli security assessment: Hamas retains most of its military strength despite war

The armed wing of Hamas still has around 25,000 fighters despite more than two years of war in the Gaza Strip, according to Israeli security assessments reported by Israel’s public broadcaster Kan on Wednesday.

The report said the Israeli security establishment estimates that about 2,500 of those fighters belong to Hamas’s elite, Nukhba, unit.

Before the war began, Hamas’s armed wing was estimated to have around 35,000 fighters, including about 5,000 members of the elite unit, according to the report. The Israeli assessment therefore suggests that the group has retained a large part of its military strength.

The report also said Israeli security agencies have recently observed an increase in what they described as executions carried out by Hamas against people accused of opposing the movement or collaborating with Israel.

According to the report, these killings are no longer carried out in public as they were in the past. Instead, they are allegedly conducted in secret at closed locations, including hospital basements and other concealed sites, to avoid provoking domestic criticism or allowing the incidents to be documented.

Separately, Kan referred to its earlier report about a meeting between Hamas leaders and Iranian officials held on the side-lines of the funeral of Iran’s late Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei. It said Hamas presented a document outlining a number of requests to Tehran.

According to the report, Hamas asked Iran to provide a “diplomatic umbrella” to support its position in any future negotiations and to use Tehran’s regional and international influence to strengthen the group’s negotiating position.