Hamas returns to north Gaza to fight IDF

ISRAEL is facing a Hamas resurgence in northern Gaza despite declaring its brigades defeated and partially withdrawing to lay siege to the south.

Israel Defence Forces (IDF) fighters have come under increasing fire from militants reappearing in Gaza City, where there is also evidence of Hamas reestablishing government duties.

Hamas has been deploying police officers around government buildings and handing out some partial civil servant salaries in recent days, an official from the group said. They claimed some police have been sent to establish control around Al-shifa hospital, which was seized early in the war. The official made the claims in an anonymous interview with Associated Press, backed by local residents.

At the beginning of January, the IDF declared it had “dismantled” the “military framework” of Hamas in the north of Gaza and that it would shift its focus toward the south. It took just 10 days before rockets were launched from the north into Israel.

After conducting partial pull-outs from Gaza City in the past few weeks that enabled some residents to return and pick through the rubble, Israeli forces have been mounting incursions to tackle the insurgent forces. In the western part of Gaza City, which Israel declared cleared in November, a small group of Al-qassam Brigades fighters have relaunched a war of attrition. Palestinian factions in the northern areas of Jabaliya and Sheikh Radwan have also been claiming responsibility for rocket attacks since mid-january.

The IDF is expected to bolster its troop presence in the north of the blockaded enclave in the coming weeks to counter the Hamas resurgence, Israel’s army radio reported. According to Israeli media reports, the IDF is estimating that about 2,000 Hamas fighters remain in the north of Gaza.